Harry Potter and the Amulet of Life
by Invisus
Summary: Right off the start of summer holiday Harry Potter is captured by Voldemort. In his sixth year at Hogwarts he struggles with the meaning of love and has some tough decisions to make; and if he chooses wrong, everything could come crashing down around him.
1. A Message from the Stars

**Harry Potter and the Amulet of Power  
**

**Summary:** Harry Potter is in his 6th year at Hogwarts. Right off the start of summer holiday he is captured by Voldemort. There is a mysterious new student at Hogwarts this year that transferred from Durmstang and she holds some interesting secrets. Harry is a sixteen year old with all of the love problems that come with his age. He struggles with the meaning of love and has some tough decisions to make. And if he chooses wrong, everything could come crashing down around him.

**Genre/Category:** Action/Adventure/Romance

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and all related characters belong to JK Rowling and Warner Brothers Entertainment. I have no wish to claim it as my own. Yet, the plot and original characters of "Harry Potter and the Amulet of Life" are all my own.

**A/N: **This is my first fic, so please give me some constructive criticism. Thanks to my beta Roman Glaub!

**Chapter One – A Message from the Stars**

A young girl of sixteen years stared out of her window into the darkness, admiring the splendor and allure of the night sky. It was a clear night with only a wisp of a gray cloud in the distance. At her vacation home in rural Scotland, the stars seemed innumerous. They covered the sky in a veil of shimmering beauty.

She pulled her thick, curly hair into a knot at the base of her neck and went back to the book she was reading. She was easily distracted again from her reading and came to be worried about her friends. There was always an eminent threat of danger for them and young woman felt a pang of concern, a gut feeling that she couldn't possibly ignore. Being a woman of facts and logic, irrational and impulsive decisions were not something she partook in.

She was a star student, a parent's dream child. Not only brilliant, but also possessed of gifts few other girls her age possessed. She was blessed with two best friends and two caring parents who would give their life for her.

She sometimes felt worried for the fate of her friends, but this time it was overbearing. This time it was something she couldn't shrug off and remind herself that what she was feeling was illogical.

She looked back up, into the night sky, and decided to make some contact with her best friends, to confirm her belief that they were unharmed. The young woman left her book at her desk and scurried down the stairs into her living room. As she passed by her parent's room she noticed they were asleep. The grandfather clock next to their fireplace read close to 10 pm. She hoped it wasn't too late to call. She had her fireplace added to the Floo Network along with her friend Harry Potter even though they belonged to nonmagical households. The Headmaster from their school, Albus Dumbledore, thought it would be best since they needed a way to leave quickly in case of an attack.

She took some power off of the mantle and threw it into the lit fire and said clearly "The Burrow". A strangely furnished room appeared and was shaking about in the fireplace. It was not the Wesley's living room but an unreal one. It was small and had a few wicker rocking chairs in front of the fireplace and house elves walking in and out of the room. The real one would not appear until you have said the password to enter. Dumbledore thought it would be unwise to keep their fireplace connected to the Floo Network for safety reasons. If it were attached then anyone could pop into their house uninvited. So he implemented the use of passwords, changed weekly, as the only way to access the home. After saying the password, "Mimbulus Mimbletonima" a darkened living room appeared in the flickering flames and a light from the kitchen could be seen.

"Hello?" The young woman called, "Hello!" she said a bit more loudly. This time she got the attention of a young man with vibrant orange hair who was in the kitchen. He came out to the fire.

"Hey Hermione, do you want me to get Ron?" He inquired in a friendly tone.

"Yes. Thank you, Fred erm…George." She replied. At this George ran up the stairs and shouted for his brother to come down. About a minute later another boy with orange hair jumped down the stairs and kneeled in front of the fireplace.

"Hi Hermione! What brings you to my fireplace at this hour?" Ron asked, surprised to be getting a call from her.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you knew when we were getting our O.W.L. results back. I'm just so anxious about them." Hermione lied.

"Well, that's a relief! I thought it might be something dreadful! I mean, what if you were just calling to talk to me!" He replied sarcastically, "And no, Hermione. For the tenth time I have no idea when our O.W.L. results will come back. Just relax I know you did fine. You're the smartest witch in our year." He said, making Hermione blush.

"Okay, I guess I'll talk to you some other time. Good night, Ron." She said awkwardly.

"G-good night." He stammered, suppressing a yawn.

The young woman ended the call and grabbed more powder out of a jar on the mantle. "Number Four Privet Drive" she said in a clear voice. A strange, red room appeared and seemed to be spinning about, the password system was also being used for Harry's residence. The room appeared to be a normal muggle living room with a television in one corner wit the lumpy sofa facing it. The entire room was red, from the couch to the picture on the small television screen. It looked like there was an earthquake going on, yet affecting none of the furniture. "Parseltongue" she said. At this, the strange red room stopped spinning and disappeared, then a spotless, aesthetically pleasing living room appeared. The kind of living room that no one did much 'living' in, at least not when there weren't guests to be entertained.

The only light in the house was emanating from the staircase and the bottom floor of the house appeared to be empty. The girl scowled to herself and closed the connection, preparing to enter the house and go upstairs to find her best friend. She dashed upstairs, grabbed her wand and shoved it into the pocket of her pajama pants. After putting on a pair of sneakers she Floo-ed herself to Harry's house.

She knew Floo-ing to Harry's house was a bit extreme, but she just needed to be sure he was safe. Hermione pitied the fact that he had to be stuck with those awful relatives of his and she wanted to be sure that not only was he safe from Voldemort but that he was being treated properly.

After she had entered the living room she brushed the soot off her and gingerly walked up the stairs. She peered into each room until she found Harry's. The door was open a few inches and there was a very dull glow from the lamp on his night table. She took in a deep breath and opened the door. The room was neat, except for the bed, which had some letters and presents strewn about it and an indentation where he had been sitting. Her best friend was nowhere in sight. She walked over to the bed and felt the indentation; it was still a bit warm. _He must have just been there. Maybe he's in the bathroom_, she thought to herself.

Hermione found that his wand wasn't there and that he wasn't in the bathroom. The causes of Harry's absence from number 4 Privet Drive flooded her mind. Remembering all the times she had told Harry to go to Dumbledore at the trivial things, Hermione decided to follow her own advice. She gazed out the window, looking at the night sky, the same night sky that had brought her here.


	2. The Young Man and the Graveyard

**Harry Potter and the Amulet of Power**

**Summary:** Harry Potter is in his 6th year at Hogwarts. Right off the start of summer holiday, Voldemort captures him. There is a mysterious new student at Hogwarts this year that transferred from Durmstang and she holds some interesting secrets. Harry is a sixteen year old with all of the love problems that come with his age. He struggles with the meaning of love and has some tough decisions to make. And if he chooses wrong, everything could come crashing down around him…

**Genre/Category:** Action/Adventure/Romance

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and all related characters belong to JK Rowling and Warner Brothers Entertainment. I have no wish to claim it as my own. Yet, the plot and original characters of "Harry Potter and the Amulet of Life" are all my own.

**A/N:** Thank you to the few people who reviewed me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to my beta Roman. Keep the reviews comin'!

**Chapter Three – The Light at the End of the Tunnel **

Hermione grabbed Harry before he fell, and then her knees gave out and she collapsed, holding her best friend's lifeless body in her lap. She was moaning and sobbing loudly, holding him in her arms, and rubbing his back. Dumbledore shot a stunning spell at Bellatrix, missing her and then shot a disarming spell at Voldemort while Snape started dueling Bellatrix.

"_AVADA KEDAVRA_!" Voldemort yelled.

"_Argenteus Amphora Munimen_!" Dumbledore retorted, sending a fluid-like shield in front of him, absorbing the green light and then disappearing. "_Argenteus Amphora Inlaqueo!_" A silver strand flew out of the old man's wand and then expanded into another fluid-like wall, but this time enveloping his opponent in it. His eyes flashed with youthful vigor and his gaze would make one quiver, Albus Dumbledore was angry. The Dark Lord yelled some spell, which made the silvery substance around him freeze and break into thousands of pieces. He threw a Cruciatus Curse at Dumbledore, which he dodged and then the Dark Lord Apparated. Seconds later, Bellatrix did the same.

And there was Hermione, holding a lifeless Harry in her arms.

She looked up at Snape with a hollow expression in her eyes, as if she'd never see happiness again. Snape looked down at her with compassion; he knew what it felt like to lose a best friend. Dumbledore looked uneasily at Hermione and Harry, then came over and swept him out of her arms.

Dumbledore examined him gravely and his eyes lit up. "We need to get him to St. Mungo's!" He picked up a rock and pointed his wand at it, "_Portus_" he said, making the rock glow. "Grab hold, Miss Granger, and we'll meet you there. Severus, please bind these Death Eaters and I'll alert the Ministry."

Then they were ripped away from the graveyard, an invisible hook pulled from behind her bellybutton and she found her feet once again planted on the ground. Hermione looked up and saw herself in the waiting room of a building with white walls and an enchanted window, making it look sunny outside. She knew better.

It looked the same as a muggle waiting room, except the people inside of it had quite different ailments. One woman had a strange squid-looking animal enveloping her hand while and a young man with sandy hair had a nose that was a few feet long. A few people were also reading 'The Daily Profit' and 'Witch Weekly' and others were pacing the room anxiously. She suddenly became embarrassed that she was still in her pajama pants and a tank top and felt out of place.

A healer ran over to Dumbledore, who asked to see a man named Schwartz. The healer took Harry and put him in a device that resembled a muggle wheelchair, except it hovered and had no wheels. The healer led them to an elevator and they shot up and got out at floor 20. The entire room was white. White floors, white chairs, white walls, white beds, white cabinets; everything was white. Hermione looked again at the sign in the elevator that didn't mention a 20th floor.

"Uh… Headmaster… How are we on the—" Hermione asked, being interrupted by Dumbledore.

"Not now, Miss Granger."

A second later they were met by a man in white with a tag that said 'Schwartz'. He was tall and lanky with short, dark brown hair. He was sporting a pair of black-rimmed glasses, which gave him a look of intellectuality.

"Albus, vat iz zis about?" he asked in a thick accent.

"This is Harry Potter, there are still signs of power and life emitting from him. He was hit with the Killing Curse about seven minutes ago."

"Yes, yes then. Iz zere anything special about today or zis time?"

"Actually, for ten minutes now it's been his sixteenth birthday. Am I right, Miss Granger?"

"Oh, yes, I'd forgotten about that, since, well…" she stammered.

"Yes, yes zen. I'll get on it. MELINDA! Get me ze number four and some MP's!" Schwartz cried, directing the floating Harry Potter onto a bed. He whipped out his wand and started muttering spells under his breath, moving his wand to different parts on Harry's body. A black woman came up beside him, in the same white robes and handed him a few vials and a funnel.

"Excellent, Melinda. Now, continue the eppercussions and then try the pulse resuscitations and some CPM." Schwartz said, putting the funnel into Harry's mouth and organizing the potions and vials he had summoned in the table.

"Ebenezer," Dumbledore began, getting the healer's attention, "I need to go to the Ministry, and Ms. Granger will stay with Mr. Potter. Professor Severus Snape will be here shortly, he should also be allowed in Harry's company, take his orders as you would mine."

"Anyzing for you Albus! After helping me oot before with zat case."

"If I were given the opportunity to represent you again, I would be delighted." He smiled at the man in white and got into the elevator.

Hermione found her way to a chair ten feet away from where they were working on Harry. Her face was stained with tears but she held hope that he could come back. She sat on the edge of her seat for any word of her best friend's condition.

He'd always been a friend, but after this she wasn't sure how she really felt for him. It seemed so odd, the feelings she'd felt when he was hit with that deadly green light. She felt like she'd never be the same again, like she'd lost a big part of herself. But, that couldn't be right, she'd always have Ron. Why wasn't that the same?

The elevator door opened, interrupting her thoughts, and Snape stepped out looking about the room and his eyes fell on a heartbroken Hermione. A strange look of concern and empathy came across his face, one she had never seen before. He came over and sat next to her in one of the chairs and turned to her.

"Miss Granger, I'm sorry…" At this she dissolved into tears, crumpling into his body. He awkwardly put his arms around her and patted her on the back. _What is she doing? _He thought. He gave into the physical contact and rubbed her back while she sobbed into his chest. He held her there, his hands caressing her back, and he couldn't help but feel odd. He felt a strange sort of comfort wash over him. These feelings scared him; he usually despised physical contact. He hadn't been this close to a woman in years. He was a loner, and didn't find himself in the role of "caring, consoling professor" very often. Her touch made him feel at ease, like everything would be okay if she never let go. He had to keep reminding himself that she was just a student (a bossy, know-it-all one at that) and he was her professor.

"Missus?"

"Yes?" Hermione replied as Schwartz approached her.

"I find as a healer, honesty is the best policy, and we don't get many patients up 'ere on level tventy, but vhen ve do I like to keep zem and zeir friends or family kept up on zeir condition.

"Zis being said, I find your friend has about a 70/30 chance of surviving zis."

"Sir?" Hermione said, holding back tears at the prospect of him dying. "70 percent for him surviving, right?"

"Yes, Miss. We're doing all ve can. The best vay I can explain it to you iz zat he's in a coma, except closer to death. We have his breathing back, yet a little shallow for my liking, and a steady heartbeat, again not as strong as I'd like it. But if 'iz recovery goes vell, I expect him to make a nearly complete recovery."

"What do you mean…nearly?" Hermione asked, scared of his response.

"He could 'ave brain damage, amnesia, memory problems, short-term memory loss…" he said matter-of-factly.

Hermione gulped and sniffed a bit, making a sorry attempt to hold back the flood of tears hiding under her eyelids. As she opened her eyes a few tears came down and asked the man in white, "What is the chance that he will have any problems?"

"Hmm…I'd 'ave to say that all depends on his background, how fast he recovers, and how strong he is. You vould know better than me." he replied. "Vell, I have to get back to vork now, so just give me a yell if you need anyzing. Melanie vill be vatching over your friend; you can go and visit him now."

Severus remained silent through this conversation; it wasn't his place to butt in and ask the many questions plaguing his mind, such as what went on in this floor. She edged up to Harry's bed and pulled up a chair to sit next to him. She pulled the hair back from his eyes and held his hand. Then she stopped and put her fingers on his scar. It was bright purple, and throbbing, it seemed to be swollen. _Well if his scar bothers him when Voldemort's angry, then I'd only imagine he'd have a worse reaction when Voldemort killed him._

"Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"How did it go? With the Death Eaters and all." She sniffed a few times then blew her nose in a napkin.

"The Ministry came by and picked them up. One of them was actually a spy from the Ministry. Telling Voldemort secrets, of which I do not know."

"Oh, well, that's good. They got what they deserved."

An awkward silence followed and Hermione was searching things to speak about to get her mind off Harry's condition.

Her Professor suspected this and said, "How has your summer been, Miss Granger?"

"Um, well it's been pretty good. I've finished all my summer assignments; I've gotten to spend a lot of time with my parents. We were going to leave for vacation tomorrow morning, but I think those plans will have to change."

"Why is that?"

She laughed, even though what drove it was nothing humorous. "Well, lets see, my best friend just died. And if you all think I'm going to leave his bedside until he's better, you're insane. My parents will just have to go to America on their own. Or at least postpone it until he's better."

"Hermione," He started, surprising her that he called her by her first name, "Staying here with him won't do anything except be a constant reminder, you don't need that kind of stress. I'm sure Harry would want you to go to America, have your vacation. Trust the Headmaster and me to watch over him; we will contact you immediately if there is any difference in his condition."

"I'm not sure I'm up to leaving him, at least not now. And I'm certainly not leaving England."

"Well, maybe you can make yourself useful? After the Headmaster comes back I need to run a few errands in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade and at the Ministry. Perhaps you would like to join me? I do need help picking out some things."

She sighed. "I guess, I do need a bit of fresh air, and I need to pick up a book or two at Flourish and Blotts."

"Very well."

Hermione was utterly surprised about how her previously repulsive, overbearing Professor was acting towards her. He was being perfectly civil and not only that, but he was acting caring, empathetic, and downright kind. This baffled her, as much as his using her first name, giving her a warm embrace, or refraining from snide or sarcastic remarks the entire day. It seemed unreal. _Maybe there's a whole side to him I've never known._

The elevator opened again and the Headmaster came in and faced Hermione and Snape, who were sitting in the Lobby area.

"Hello, I'm sorry that I've been so long. Hermione; I've told your parents what happened and where you are. They said you could stay here as long as you'd like, but they ask that you come home before the week is over. Your parents also said that they are holding off on the vacation. Though, your parents and I seem to agree that it would be good for you to leave and enjoy yourself. Too much moping can be devastating to one's character." Hermione looked up at him uneasily and gave a small smile.

"As for you Severus, the Death eaters are in holding chambers at the Ministry. And there are a few more things that I need, if you don't mind." He handed Snape a piece of parchment that he perused, then placed it in the pocket of his robes.

"Miss Granger will be joining me on my errands, is that going to be a problem?"

"I think it would be a marvelous idea. And I'll keep an eye on Harry. If there's any change on his condition I will alert you." Snape nodded at him and turned to Hermione.

"Miss Granger, shall we?"

"In a moment," she replied, walking over to Harry's bedside. She put his hand in hers and kissed him on the forehead. Hermione whispered her condolences and kissed him on each cheek. She walked back over to Snape with tears in her eyes.

"Right, let's be going."


	3. The Light at the End of the Tunnel

**Harry Potter and the Amulet of Power**

**Summary:** Harry Potter is in his 6th year at Hogwarts. Right off the start of summer holiday, Voldemort captures him. There is a mysterious new student at Hogwarts this year that transferred from Durmstang and she holds some interesting secrets. Harry is a sixteen year old with all of the love problems that come with his age. He struggles with the meaning of love and has some tough decisions to make. And if he chooses wrong, everything could come crashing down around him…

**Genre/Category:** Action/Adventure/Romance

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and all related characters belong to JK Rowling and Warner Brothers Entertainment. I have no wish to claim it as my own. Yet, the plot and original characters of "Harry Potter and the Amulet of Life" are all my own.

**A/N:** Thank you to the few people who reviewed me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to my beta Roman. Keep the reviews comin'!

**Chapter Three – The Light at the End of the Tunnel**

Hermione grabbed Harry before he fell, and then her knees gave out and she collapsed, holding her best friend's lifeless body in her lap. She was moaning and sobbing loudly, holding him in her arms, and rubbing his back. Dumbledore shot a stunning spell at Bellatrix, missing her and then shot a disarming spell at Voldemort while Snape started dueling Bellatrix.

"_AVADA KEDAVRA_!" Voldemort yelled.

"_Argenteus Amphora Munimen_!" Dumbledore retorted, sending a fluid-like shield in front of him, absorbing the green light and then disappearing. "_Argenteus Amphora Inlaqueo!_" A silver strand flew out of the old man's wand and then expanded into another fluid-like wall, but this time enveloping his opponent in it. His eyes flashed with youthful vigor and his gaze would make one quiver, Albus Dumbledore was angry. The Dark Lord yelled some spell, which made the silvery substance around him freeze and break into thousands of pieces. He threw a Cruciatus Curse at Dumbledore, which he dodged and then the Dark Lord Apparated. Seconds later, Bellatrix did the same.

And there was Hermione, holding a lifeless Harry in her arms.

She looked up at Snape with a hollow expression in her eyes, as if she'd never see happiness again. Snape looked down at her with compassion; he knew what it felt like to lose a best friend. Dumbledore looked uneasily at Hermione and Harry, then came over and swept him out of her arms.

Dumbledore examined him gravely and his eyes lit up. "We need to get him to St. Mungo's!" He picked up a rock and pointed his wand at it, "_Portus_" he said, making the rock glow. "Grab hold, Miss Granger, and we'll meet you there. Severus, please bind these Death Eaters and I'll alert the Ministry."

Then they were ripped away from the graveyard, an invisible hook pulled from behind her bellybutton and she found her feet once again planted on the ground. Hermione looked up and saw herself in the waiting room of a building with white walls and an enchanted window, making it look sunny outside. She knew better.

It looked the same as a muggle waiting room, except the people inside of it had quite different ailments. One woman had a strange squid-looking animal enveloping her hand while and a young man with sandy hair had a nose that was a few feet long. A few people were also reading 'The Daily Profit' and 'Witch Weekly' and others were pacing the room anxiously. She suddenly became embarrassed that she was still in her pajama pants and a tank top and felt out of place.

A healer ran over to Dumbledore, who asked to see a man named Schwartz. The healer took Harry and put him in a device that resembled a muggle wheelchair, except it hovered and had no wheels. The healer led them to an elevator and they shot up and got out at floor 20. The entire room was white. White floors, white chairs, white walls, white beds, white cabinets; everything was white. Hermione looked again at the sign in the elevator that didn't mention a 20th floor.

"Uh… Headmaster… How are we on the—" Hermione asked, being interrupted by Dumbledore.

"Not now, Miss Granger."

A second later they were met by a man in white with a tag that said 'Schwartz'. He was tall and lanky with short, dark brown hair. He was sporting a pair of black-rimmed glasses, which gave him a look of intellectuality.

"Albus, vat iz zis about?" he asked in a thick accent.

"This is Harry Potter, there are still signs of power and life emitting from him. He was hit with the Killing Curse about seven minutes ago."

"Yes, yes then. Iz zere anything special about today or zis time?"

"Actually, for ten minutes now it's been his sixteenth birthday. Am I right, Miss Granger?"

"Oh, yes, I'd forgotten about that, since, well…" she stammered.

"Yes, yes zen. I'll get on it. MELINDA! Get me ze number four and some MP's!" Schwartz cried, directing the floating Harry Potter onto a bed. He whipped out his wand and started muttering spells under his breath, moving his wand to different parts on Harry's body. A black woman came up beside him, in the same white robes and handed him a few vials and a funnel.

"Excellent, Melinda. Now, continue the eppercussions and then try the pulse resuscitations and some CPM." Schwartz said, putting the funnel into Harry's mouth and organizing the potions and vials he had summoned in the table.

"Ebenezer," Dumbledore began, getting the healer's attention, "I need to go to the Ministry, and Ms. Granger will stay with Mr. Potter. Professor Severus Snape will be here shortly, he should also be allowed in Harry's company, take his orders as you would mine."

"Anyzing for you Albus! After helping me oot before with zat case."

"If I were given the opportunity to represent you again, I would be delighted." He smiled at the man in white and got into the elevator.

Hermione found her way to a chair ten feet away from where they were working on Harry. Her face was stained with tears but she held hope that he could come back. She sat on the edge of her seat for any word of her best friend's condition.

He'd always been a friend, but after this she wasn't sure how she really felt for him. It seemed so odd, the feelings she'd felt when he was hit with that deadly green light. She felt like she'd never be the same again, like she'd lost a big part of herself. But, that couldn't be right, she'd always have Ron. Why wasn't that the same?

The elevator door opened, interrupting her thoughts, and Snape stepped out looking about the room and his eyes fell on a heartbroken Hermione. A strange look of concern and empathy came across his face, one she had never seen before. He came over and sat next to her in one of the chairs and turned to her.

"Miss Granger, I'm sorry…" At this she dissolved into tears, crumpling into his body. He awkwardly put his arms around her and patted her on the back. _What is she doing? _He thought. He gave into the physical contact and rubbed her back while she sobbed into his chest. He held her there, his hands caressing her back, and he couldn't help but feel odd. He felt a strange sort of comfort wash over him. These feelings scared him; he usually despised physical contact. He hadn't been this close to a woman in years. He was a loner, and didn't find himself in the role of "caring, consoling professor" very often. Her touch made him feel at ease, like everything would be okay if she never let go. He had to keep reminding himself that she was just a student (a bossy, know-it-all one at that) and he was her professor.

"Missus?"

"Yes?" Hermione replied as Schwartz approached her.

"I find as a healer, honesty is the best policy, and we don't get many patients up 'ere on level tventy, but vhen ve do I like to keep zem and zeir friends or family kept up on zeir condition.

"Zis being said, I find your friend has about a 70/30 chance of surviving zis."

"Sir?" Hermione said, holding back tears at the prospect of him dying. "70 percent for him surviving, right?"

"Yes, Miss. We're doing all ve can. The best vay I can explain it to you iz zat he's in a coma, except closer to death. We have his breathing back, yet a little shallow for my liking, and a steady heartbeat, again not as strong as I'd like it. But if 'iz recovery goes vell, I expect him to make a nearly complete recovery."

"What do you mean…nearly?" Hermione asked, scared of his response.

"He could 'ave brain damage, amnesia, memory problems, short-term memory loss…" he said matter-of-factly.

Hermione gulped and sniffed a bit, making a sorry attempt to hold back the flood of tears hiding under her eyelids. As she opened her eyes a few tears came down and asked the man in white, "What is the chance that he will have any problems?"

"Hmm…I'd 'ave to say that all depends on his background, how fast he recovers, and how strong he is. You vould know better than me." he replied. "Vell, I have to get back to vork now, so just give me a yell if you need anyzing. Melanie vill be vatching over your friend; you can go and visit him now."

Severus remained silent through this conversation; it wasn't his place to butt in and ask the many questions plaguing his mind, such as what went on in this floor. She edged up to Harry's bed and pulled up a chair to sit next to him. She pulled the hair back from his eyes and held his hand. Then she stopped and put her fingers on his scar. It was bright purple, and throbbing, it seemed to be swollen. _Well if his scar bothers him when Voldemort's angry, then I'd only imagine he'd have a worse reaction when Voldemort killed him._

"Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"How did it go? With the Death Eaters and all." She sniffed a few times then blew her nose in a napkin.

"The Ministry came by and picked them up. One of them was actually a spy from the Ministry. Telling Voldemort secrets, of which I do not know."

"Oh, well, that's good. They got what they deserved."

An awkward silence followed and Hermione was searching things to speak about to get her mind off Harry's condition.

Her Professor suspected this and said, "How has your summer been, Miss Granger?"

"Um, well it's been pretty good. I've finished all my summer assignments; I've gotten to spend a lot of time with my parents. We were going to leave for vacation tomorrow morning, but I think those plans will have to change."

"Why is that?"

She laughed, even though what drove it was nothing humorous. "Well, lets see, my best friend just died. And if you all think I'm going to leave his bedside until he's better, you're insane. My parents will just have to go to America on their own. Or at least postpone it until he's better."

"Hermione," He started, surprising her that he called her by her first name, "Staying here with him won't do anything except be a constant reminder, you don't need that kind of stress. I'm sure Harry would want you to go to America, have your vacation. Trust the Headmaster and me to watch over him; we will contact you immediately if there is any difference in his condition."

"I'm not sure I'm up to leaving him, at least not now. And I'm certainly not leaving England."

"Well, maybe you can make yourself useful? After the Headmaster comes back I need to run a few errands in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade and at the Ministry. Perhaps you would like to join me? I do need help picking out some things."

She sighed. "I guess, I do need a bit of fresh air, and I need to pick up a book or two at Flourish and Blotts."

"Very well."

Hermione was utterly surprised about how her previously repulsive, overbearing Professor was acting towards her. He was being perfectly civil and not only that, but he was acting caring, empathetic, and downright kind. This baffled her, as much as his using her first name, giving her a warm embrace, or refraining from snide or sarcastic remarks the entire day. It seemed unreal. _Maybe there's a whole side to him I've never known._

The elevator opened again and the Headmaster came in and faced Hermione and Snape, who were sitting in the Lobby area.

"Hello, I'm sorry that I've been so long. Hermione; I've told your parents what happened and where you are. They said you could stay here as long as you'd like, but they ask that you come home before the week is over. Your parents also said that they are holding off on the vacation. Though, your parents and I seem to agree that it would be good for you to leave and enjoy yourself. Too much moping can be devastating to one's character." Hermione looked up at him uneasily and gave a small smile.

"As for you Severus, the Death eaters are in holding chambers at the Ministry. And there are a few more things that I need, if you don't mind." He handed Snape a piece of parchment that he perused, then placed it in the pocket of his robes.

"Miss Granger will be joining me on my errands, is that going to be a problem?"

"I think it would be a marvelous idea. And I'll keep an eye on Harry. If there's any change on his condition I will alert you." Snape nodded at him and turned to Hermione.

"Miss Granger, shall we?"

"In a moment," she replied, walking over to Harry's bedside. She put his hand in hers and kissed him on the forehead. Hermione whispered her condolences and kissed him on each cheek. She walked back over to Snape with tears in her eyes.

"Right, let's be going."


	4. The Stranger's Assistance

center **Harry Potter and the Amulet of Power** /center 

**Summary:** Harry Potter is in his 6th year at Hogwarts. Right off the start of summer holiday he is captured by Voldemort. There is a mysterious new student at Hogwarts this year that transferred from Durmstang and she holds some interesting secrets. Harry is a sixteen year old with all of the love problems that come with his age. He struggles with the meaning of love and has some tough decisions to make. And if he chooses wrong, everything could come crashing down around him…

**Genre/Category:** Action/Adventure/Romance

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related characters belong to JK Rowling and Warner Brothers Entertainment. I have no wish to claim it as my own. Yet, the plot and original characters of "Harry Potter and the Amulet of Life" are all my own. 

**Ships:** HPHG HGSS HPGW GWDM (Love triangles all around!)

**A/N: **Thank you to the few people who reviewed me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Keep the reviews comin'!

Chapter Six – The Strangers' Assistance 

"Grandmother, the porthole is breaking!" A young girl with stringy blonde hair yelled.

"Slow down it's progress, if it ends too quickly it could mean trouble. I'd imagine his state is vulnerable to disturbances. Maybe it would be best to work and keep it open." Said an older, stout woman with gray streaks in her hair. She looked now towards a middle-aged man, dressed in frayed robes with long red hair.

"Marie, get your grandmother the dragon's blood. I think she is right." He said to the skinny girl.

Marie opened the cabinet and selected a vial of a purpley substance out of it. She handed it to the older woman and she put three drops of it into their simmering potion, causing it to expel a red gas. The girl started adding some crushed substances into it as her grandmother pulled out her wand and summoned a large stirrer, which started churning the potion. It was now a bright orange.

"_Marentelos phosphatous ponete" _the middle-aged man incanted, causing green sparks to come from the cauldron. Then they all peered into the potion and it turned from an orange to a white, with blurred images inside of it.

"Marie, the phoenix tears, please."

The girl dispensed two drops of the clear serum into the cauldron and the picture shook, making it clearer.

"Now, the virgin's blood, and the boy's blood and hair."

The girl took two more vials out of the cabinet and a piece of folded up leather with some hair in it. She added two drops of the virgin's blood and one of the boy's. Then she added a clump of hair and her grandmother made the fire under the cauldron larger and finally the picture grew clear.

"Alas, the phoenix tears have helped. We have helped. He is somewhere safe."

The girl went out from the room and pulled her blonde hair back into a knot on the nape of her neck. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and looked at the clock, it was one in the morning. She groaned, knowing how early she had to wake up in the morning. She collapsed on the sofa and fell into a deep sleep.


	5. A Day in Unexpected Company

center **Harry Potter and the Amulet of Power** /center 

**Summary:** Harry Potter is in his 6th year at Hogwarts. Right off the start of summer holiday he is captured by Voldemort. There is a mysterious new student at Hogwarts this year that transferred from Durmstang and she holds some interesting secrets. Harry is a sixteen year old with all of the love problems that come with his age. He struggles with the meaning of love and has some tough decisions to make. And if he chooses wrong, everything could come crashing down around him…

**Genre/Category:** Action/Adventure/Romance

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related characters belong to JK Rowling and Warner Brothers Entertainment. I have no wish to claim it as my own. Yet, the plot and original characters of "Harry Potter and the Amulet of Life" are all my own. 

**Ships:** HPHG HGSS HPGW GWDM (Love triangles all around!)

**A/N: **Thank you to the few people who reviewed me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Keep the reviews comin'!

**Chapter Seven – Meeting Old Friends**

It was early morning and it was still a little dusky out. The air was thick and humid and the sun was in the east, still rising. It was beautiful. Hermione and Severus walked down past the shops in Hogsmeade and she wondered what stores would be open at this hour. They came upon a small restaurant, which Hermione had never noticed. It had a parlor window and it showed a few tables with well dressed people reading, eating, and talking at. When they walked in it was larger than it seemed and had several tables for eating, a bar, and two staircases going up on opposite sides of the room. She came to the conclusion that the window was enchanted. It had a few more enchanted windows and it seemed quite clean and posh. There were two bookcases with hundreds of books and a few reading chairs around it with a fireplace separating the two of them. It had an exquisite interior that looked from the Victorian Era.

The man at the bar who looked to be reading a muggle book looked up at them.

"Hello, how may I help you two?" The barman asked in a French accent, scanning Hermione's attire with a look of distaste.

"We'll have a suite, sir. One night only." Snape replied.

Hermione looked at him curiously and followed the two men up the stairs. When they came upon room 109 the barman opened the door with his key and led them into the room. He started talking to Snape about the suite and if they might need anything what to do so Hermione started inspecting the rooms. There were two bedrooms and two bathrooms, a kitchen slash dining room and a den with a large bookcase and a fire. She went to one of the bedrooms and collapsed on the bed, slipping away to the sleep that she'd forgotten the night before.

Snape came in a few minutes after she fell asleep and awoke her.

"Miss Granger, I believe you wished to assist me in my errands? If you wake I will make you an Awake Potion once we get into Diagon Alley. In the mean time, may I suggest some coffee and breakfast?" She groaned and got out of bed and it magically made itself.

"Why didn't we just eat downstairs? Why did you get a suite?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I'm afraid you aren't allowed to eat downstairs like…that." Hermione blushed. "They have a dress code here, they don't want it to seem trashy. Not like you look trashy, it's just that they prefer girls that are dressed."

"Ah, I guess I can understand that. Where can I get some robes? Should I floo home first?"

"No, that is unnecessary. They have a few robes in the closet and some clothes in the drawers. I'm afraid they don't offer underclothes here." He replied, remembering that it didn't seem like she wasn't wearing a bra, making it very hard to look her in the eyes when they were talking. She certainly wasn't a little girl anymore. _When had she grown up? _He wondered.

She colored again and walked over towards the dresser and took out a skirt and a blouse as Snape left the room. Hermione went into the bathroom and took a shower and after toweling off she went back into the bedroom.

She put on the clothes and went over to the closet and picked out a set of black robes, they had a nice make. Hermione had fortunately put on some shoes before leaving for Harry's so she wasn't barefoot. She looked in the mirror hanging on the back of her door. The robes and clothes fit perfectly. She looked very polished and well put together. Something she rarely achieved.

"You look lovely dear." The mirror said to her. "Maybe you should do something with that hair though."

"Thanks." She said sarcastically. Hermione walked over to the bathroom and brushed her hair and teeth. She put her hair back into a loose braid that went about half a foot down her back. She walked out of the room into the kitchen where Snape was lounging, reading the Daily Prophet and drinking a cup of coffee.

"My goodness, what took you?" Snape asked her, an impatient look on his face.

She giggled, "I'm sorry Professor. The shower was much too comforting to leave."

His face softened slightly and he said, "Would you like to eat here or downstairs?"

"Whichever."

"Downstairs it is. I find these chairs incredibly uncomfortable. I tried to transfigure one of them into an armchair but it turned into a large bird then it changed back into a chair. There must be anti-transfiguration charms in here. I can imagine their surprise to come back to a room filled with ferrets and not a chair or table in sight." He smiled and continued, "If only I could have seen Mister Malfoy's display last year as a ferret…"

Hermione laughed again. _Wow… Snape has a sense of humor that isn't making fun of Gryffindors? _She thought. They headed downstairs and a woman walked up to them, presumably another bartender.

"Would you or your daughter like something to drink?"

"She is not my daughter. But we would like something to drink none-the-less."

"Oh, I'm sorry sir."

"I would like an expresso." Hermione said.

"And I'll have a coffee." Snape said.

"Right. Your drinks will be here in a minute." The cheerful woman replied. _It's too early to be that cheerful_ Hermione thought.

"How could that woman think I'm your daughter? We look nothing alike."

"She is a bartender. Do you think her very intelligent?" Hermione shrugged. They ordered their meals and ate in silence.

After Hermione and Severus finished they stepped out and made their way around Hogsmeade. First, they went to a small Dutch shop she had never been in. It seemed to specialize in cauldrons, though they had a lot of everyday muggle items made magical for convenience. Hermione wondered if this was legal. She saw a broom that was sweeping about the store and a duster dusting by itself. She also saw a boom box, assuming it did not run on electricity. Snape found her and escorted her out of the store.

"What did you get?" She asked, trying to make conversation.

"Some cauldrons. I purchased a folding one for myself and I put an order in for a large one for Dumbledore."

They walked into Madame Malkin's and Snape turned to Hermione and said "Okay, this is what I'd like your help with. My cousin is coming into town. She is about the same size as you. I wanted to get her some new robes as a gift for her. Would you mind trying some on that I give you to see if they would fit?"

Hermione worked furiously to hold back a laugh; she just could not imagine Snape shopping for girl's robes. She thought about what Harry would say when she told him but then she remembered his state and a morose feeling crept back into her. "Certainly." Hermione replied.

After about ten minutes Snape got her five different sets of robes to try on. She tried on each of them and showed Snape how they looked. It felt odd having her Professor checking her out like that, but he knew it wasn't her he was checking out, it was the robes. When she came upon the last one, it looked rather small. It was black and shimmered when you moved the fabric. The robes were made of silk and had a very low neckline. The bottom of the robes came down to above her knee and was quite tight all over her body but then flared out near the bottom. She checked herself out in the mirror in the dressing room and didn't feel very comfortable with Snape seeing her in them.

When she stepped out of the fitting room Snape turned to her and froze, looking at her. His eyes lingered on the place where the silky, black material came together at the base of her breasts and started to felt his mouth go dry after seeing her nipples through the thin material. _She's a student, you git! _He told himself while snapping back to reality again. He told her to go back to the fitting room and change back into her clothes. If he had stared any longer it would be obvious in more ways than one how much he liked her in those robes.

Hermione stepped out of the fitting room with her clothes on and Snape decided to buy the third set of robes she tried on. They were a deep purple with a swooping, yet modest neckline and ended just below the knees. Severus paid for it and they went back to the boarding house. They ate lunch and then went up into their room.

"Do you need anything more in Hogsmeade?" Snape asked her.

"No." Hermione replied.

"Okay then, lets floo over."

He walked over to the fireplace in the den and grabbed some floo powder off the mantle and said clearly "The Leaky Cauldron". Then Hermione did the same and she found herself in the small, dusky restaurant. They headed out into Diagon Alley and headed for the Apothecary. Snape was searching over the shelves and stopped often to gather some materials from the shelves. Hermione also found herself purchasing a few potions supplies with borrowed money from Snape. After they were finished shopping Snape had purchased almost twenty items (paid for by Hogwarts) and ten more items for himself. He looked to be friends with the shop owner. Hermione noticed them carrying on what seemed like a friendly conversation and then Snape walked over with him to what seemed like a storeroom. He stuck his head out a second later and said to Hermione that he was going to make them some potions before leaving. Then the strange storeowner found his way back to his perch at the register. He was about five and a half feet tall and was quite chubby and was hunched over when he walked, or more like shuffled. He had a very poor looking blonde comb-over with steaks of gray in it and a scruffy looking mustache. His large nose was buried in a copy of "Potions Monthly" and was tapping his foot wildly to the music that was emanating from behind the desk. It was some kind of jazz.

About ten minutes later Snape stepped out from the storeroom and came out with a purple potion and handed it to Hermione.

"Drink up. It'll make you more alert." He said. She was about to take a sip when she furrowed her brow.

"Did you make this right? It smells like cinnamon." Hermione asked, remembering that most potions tasted terrible, like the Polyjuice potion she took in her second year. Snape laughed and this startled Hermione. She didn't recall ever hearing him give a real laugh. One that wasn't at the expense of Gryffindors or anyone else he was insulting.

"Yes. I merely added the cinnamon to help with the taste. The reason we don't use it in other potions is because the sweeteners usually react adversely to the potion, altering its outcome." She looked intrigued and downed the flask.

"It wasn't that bad. The cinnamon really took the edge off it. I think I know what you're talking about. I read in "Potions Monthly" once that a man added a few sugar cubes to his hangover potion and he ended up sprouting tentacles!"

Snape looked surprised, "Yes, Miss Granger, I remember that article. It just goes to show you what happens to careless and idiotic wizards who make potions. Potion making is an art, not something to be dabbled and experimented with, unless you have the proper education, which that man did not. Actually, he does now. He was a young man when experimenting with the sugar cubes. He is now a renown potions author."

"Didn't he write "Potion Theorems for the 21st Century" and "Concocting Potions in the Home"? Jeremiah Baker? I believe he is holding a book signing in the apothecary in Hogsmeade today."

Snape looked impressed. "Indeed, Miss Granger. Although he is one of my favorite authors I refuse to take part in such frivolity."

Hermione agreed silently, remembering the book signing for Gilderoy Lockhart years ago. All of the drooling girls and mothers, screaming for a chance to get their book signed by the man. She could not imagine women doing this for Baker, a potions author, but still found it humorous thinking of Snape screaming for an autograph…

Snape was impressed by her interest in potions and her knowledge of the not-so-well-known author. Maybe I could start an internship with her this upcoming school year if she's interested in Potions work. He thought, wistfully. Students like her made his teaching career worthwhile. That is, the mature, knowledgeable, intellectual Hermione Granger, not the know-it-all first year.

After they had finished their shopping in Diagon Alley Snape led Hermione town a few twisty, dark paths until they found themselves in Knockturn Alley.

"Do you mind if I do a bit of shopping here, Miss Granger? I know it's not the best neck of town so if you're not comfortable…"

"No, no, it's fine. I can take care of myself, thankyouverymuch." She said, cutting him off, looking quite surly. This left him looking slightly dazed and wondering why he ever thought this would bother her. She did face quite a few death eaters last year, why should I have suspected her of being a scared, little girl?

They stopped in front of a small, dirty looking store. The outside had a bench and a pot of enchanted flowers that looked as though they might be dying. There were cobwebs near the dusty window and the door creaked when Snape opened it. She began to follow him in when he stopped her.

"Miss Granger, please wait for me out here." She scowled and stood outside the door.

It seemed like a half an hour when she began to get bored. Hermione started edging away from the store, looking into the ones that bordered it. She found one that sparked her interest. I'll be fine. Snape's just overprotective.

When she walked into the store it seemed a bit too clean for Knockturn Alley. It had many trinkets and magical items and much jewelry. It all seemed fine, but there was the occasional warning sign of not to touch or go near an item. After a few minutes a man came out to meet her, presumably that worked there. He was tall and slender and had a full head of lengthy black hair. His eyes were a shocking blue and it was hard for her to look at them. It was as if when you were looking into them that he could read your soul and read your fears by his eyes boring into yours.

"Good Evening, Miss. Can I help you find anything today?"

"Well, not really. I'm just looking around. The person I'm with is taking an exceeding amount of time in one of the other shops."

"Perhaps then I can find something that sparks your interest? I'll try not to be an overbearing a salesman, say one word and I'm off to my backroom again." He gave her a warm smile. It was comforting and trusting.

"I suppose. What do you have in mind?" He stepped forward and went to put his hands on her temples and she withdrew.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I have some seer blood in me and I can get a good sense of someone by doing this. No harm will come to you, just my fingers against your temples." Hermione looked uncertainly into his eyes and was immediately comforted. How odd that his eyes were a source of fear, but now a source of trust and familiarity. She stepped towards him again and let him resume.

After his cold fingertips touched her temples once again she felt a cold rush move through her mind and then into all of her body. After a minute or so he removed his hands and led her to a cabinet near the window. There was some elaborate jewelry and some odd Egyptian artifacts inside of it. He opened the cabinet with a flick of his wrist and drew out a beautiful necklace. It was on a gold chain and had an amulet on the end. It was a golden cat with his mouth stretched open and a red stone was inside of it. He went behind her and fastened it around her neck. She withdrew her hand from her pocket and touched it with her finger. It was warm. She looked up at the salesman for an explanation of what it was.

"It's from Ancient Egypt, the only one like it. I haven't been able to discern which stone this is, though; it must be rare or depleted. Or possibly from another planet."

"So, is it magical?"

"It has magical properties. It was meant for you, I can tell. Many people have had a draw to it but I just haven't felt it's right for them, and after I denied selling it to them they got quite cross with me. I am personally quite interested in Ancient Egyptian magic and I've read up on amulets such as that. I found an ancient manuscript saying that in those times there was an amulet that provided great and terrible power to those who possessed it. I believe that amulet to be the same one as that mentioned in the ancient texts. It has a magical draw about it. How about, we try something here, try to hold it in your hand and close your eyes."

When Hermione proceeded to do this she felt a warmth seep from it into her hand and then into her entire body. Once her body was filled with the mysterious force she felt it move in her hand and then it felt as though it had bit her and she cried out in pain. It fell from her grasp. Hermione opened her eyes and saw that the amulet was glowing and her hand was bleeding.

"What was THAT?" Hermione yelled at the man.

"Well, I think it extracted some of your blood and now it can be of more use to you." Her eyes widened and fear radiated through her.

"Am I cursed now, or something?"

"No, no, quite the contrary. It now has your blood and can now be used to protect you. Though, I'm not really sure how…"

"You said this amulet gave great and terrible power to those who held it, so you're lying to me about something now."

"That amulet can be used in some dark magic and in one spell, the amulet can raise the ghosts of ancient evil to possess you and give you super human strength and power. Quite dangerous. I don't think you'll be taking over the world anytime soon so I decided to sell it to you. Are you, by any chance, Egyptian in any manner?"

"Well, my great grandfather was from Egyptian, actually. My mum says I got his hair and eyes."

"Hmm, I think it works with those that have Ancient Egyptian Royal blood in their veins. One of your ancestors was probably a king or queen, you know."

"Do you have any literature on this? I am quite curious about Egyptian magic."

"Yes, yes. And that amulet, it will be five galleons."

"Five!"

"Well, it's of no use to me, and few others at that. If I don't sell it to you I'd probably end up passing it on to my heir when I die."

Hermione bought several books on Ancient Egyptian magic and the amulet and left, returning to the shop where Snape was. She wondered how long she'd been gone and if he'd gone out to look for her. She decided it wouldn't hurt to look in the shop to see if her Professor was still there.

Hermione carefully pushed open the door and looked around curiously. It was dark and dusty and looked like no one ever came in there. No one appeared to be in the shop, but then she saw a light emanating from a slit in the floor, which was a trap door. She sucked a breath in and got ready for the worst. She put a sliencing charm on the door and with her wand at ready she opened it and the light burst through the room, giving luminescence to the dusty bottles lining the shelves.

She descended down the stairs slowly and quietly listening for anyone or anything.

"No, stop, I'll find the others." Snape cried, from the other side of the wall.

"Crucio!" a cold, deep voice yelled out. Snape moaned at the pain of the Cruciatus and Hermione winced, knowing she had to help him. She took a mirror out of her bag and used it to look on the other side of the wall. Perfect she thought to herself.

"Impedimenta! Stupefy!" She yelled in succession, taking out the two unsuspecting men. Snape was heaped on the floor, looking unable to walk. She scurried over, grabbed the two men's wands, and stunned the wizard that was now moving very, very slowly.

"Can you walk, sir?" Hermione asked her Professor.

He gave her a pained expression and managed to stand and shuffle alongside her. She couldn't very well hold him up so he toppled to the ground again. She furrowed her brow in frustration and thought of levitating him, but there wasn't nearly enough room in the tight hallway. She felt a strange surge of power through her and was drawn to put her hands on his chest. When she did, Hermione felt that cool sensation running through her body that she had previously when she held the amulet. She felt some of it leaving her and traveling into Severus who appeared startled. He mustered up his strength and stood quite easily and gave her a strange look. She just shrugged.

They started to walk up when the trap door opened again and a cloaked man started to walk down the stairs. She grabbed Snape around his middle and dragged him behind the wall. When the man came around it she shot a stunning spell at him and missed. He looked surprised and disarmed her, sending her flying back into the rocky wall. Snape grabbed his wand off of one of the men that were already stunned and started to duel with the cloaked figure. After being hit with Cruciatus, Snape's knees gave out and he crumpled into a heap on the floor. Then he felt a strange cool surge of power run through him and he screamed out and tackled his attacker.

The man appeared very surprised that his victim had thrown off the curse in his rage and felt around frantically for his wand that had fallen. Snape didn't bother retrieving one and started punching the man in the face. After a few well placed hits the man passed out. Severus found his wand and bound the three men and put a silencing charm on them.

The slender, pale man hurried over to Hermione and examined her wounds. He healed the cuts on her face and picked her up to carry her out of the cellar. Her face found it's way to be burrowed in the crook of his neck and he looked wistfully at her, knowing he would never forgive himself if she was seriously hurt.

He gathered up all the strength he could muster and climbed the stairs with Hermione's fragile body. Severus went through the trap door and then set Hermione down on the ground, as to find some floo powder to get to Hogwarts. She stirred on the ground and started to get up when Snape ran over to her.

"Hermione, are you alright?" He asked, briskly.

"Um…" she said dreamily, rubbing the back of her head, "I guess…"

"We need to get you to Hogwarts."

She got up and slumped against Severus, trying to maintain her weight. He swept her off her feet seeing she couldn't move around by herself.

"The packages…" She started.

"Yes, I found them here where you left them. Let's go." He held the packages on one arm and Hermione on the other. He threw the floo powder into the fire with some difficulty and shouted "Hogwarts Infirmary!" and grabbed the packages and Hermione close to him as he was whisked through the darkness and then stumbled upon landing in the large white room. Hermione had passed out again in the floo.

Madame Pomfrey bustled over and summoned a bed so Snape could place Hermione on it.

"What happened?" She asked, checking Hermione's wounds.

"I healed some of the cuts on her face, neck, and arms. She took a pretty nasty disarming charm and hit a rocky wall behind her from about ten feet. Happened about ten minutes ago and she woke up right before I went through the floo. She held the back of her head, also."

"Her vitals are all fine. Her breath is a bit shallow though. But it doesn't seem to match up. The gash was very deep and I wouldn't be the least surprised if you told me she was in a coma. But, you say she woke up? Did she talk intelligibly?"

"Yes, she said that she guessed she was okay and that we can't forget the packages. She looked quite out of it though." Snape said, in a daze of his own. "Well, I've got to see the Headmaster about this and I'll be back in about an hour."

Madame Pomfrey nodded at him and went back to attending to Hermione. Snape reached in his pocket and drew out a gold whistle and blew on it. Seconds later a house elf popped in front of him.

"Please take these bags up to my rooms, Patsy."

The gray house elf beamed up at him and said "Oh, yes, master! How is you feeling? You is not looking well! Should Patsy bring Master Snape some Pepper Up potion from Master's stores?"

"No, no. Thank you anyway, Patsy. Just take those bags up to my room." At this the house elf grabbed the bags and popped away. Severus used some floo powder and said "Saint Mungos!" And was whisked away into the darkness.


	6. Trouble At St Mungo's

center **Harry Potter and the Amulet of Power** /center 

**Summary:** Harry Potter is in his 6th year at Hogwarts. Right off the start of summer holiday he is captured by Voldemort. There is a mysterious new student at Hogwarts this year that transferred from Durmstang and she holds some interesting secrets. Harry is a sixteen year old with all of the love problems that come with his age. He struggles with the meaning of love and has some tough decisions to make. And if he chooses wrong, everything could come crashing down around him…

**Genre/Category:** Action/Adventure/Romance

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related characters belong to JK Rowling and Warner Brothers Entertainment. I have no wish to claim it as my own. Yet, the plot and original characters of "Harry Potter and the Amulet of Life" are all my own. 

**Ships:** HPHG HGSS HPGW GWDM (Love triangles all around!)

**A/N: ** Be a responsible reader and review!

**Chapter Nine – Trouble at St. Mungo's**

"Really, Madame Pomfrey, I'm fine. Can you let me go now?" Hermione asked, frustrated that she continued to deny her.

"Miss Granger, if you ask me again I'm going to have to sedate you." Madame Pomfrey replied, pursing her lips so tightly that even McGonnogal would have a run for her money.

"But you said I had a remarkable recovery!" she whined.

"Miss Granger! You may have had a 'remarkable recovery' but I just want to be sure you're alright. You need your rest. And that is that. Take your potion and go to sleep, you are NOT leaving."

Hermione grimaced and decided to stay another night. She was restless. She was so worried about Harry it nearly drove her insane. She wanted to be by his bedside and talk to him and hold his hand. Snape had come to her earlier that day to tell her that Schwartz said he was getting stronger rapidly and that it looks good that he won't have severe brain damage. This held her for a while, but she couldn't help but feel worried about him.

Snape had come to visit her a few times while she was in the Infirmary, Hermione suspected this was because he felt it was his fault for her being hurt. No one had yet told her who those people were or why they were torturing Severus and she became very irritated. Now she understood why Harry had been so pissed when people kept things from him, like how his godfather was an escaped murderer who was coming to kill him in his third year.

Her and Severus were actually getting pretty friendly. She couldn't recall one snide or sarcastic remark he had directed towards her in the past week. They also shared a few interests, such as Potions and Alchemy. He had told her not many students were interested as her in Potions and that she should follow that and make a career out of it. She wasn't really sure what she wanted to do once she was out of Hogwarts. There was always the Auror training…but for some reason she didn't think she was cut out for that sort of work. She thought of a Ministry job, like being one of the Unspeakables. That could be interesting! She couldn't wait until she got her OWLS results.

Then someone entered the room, cutting off her thoughts of the future. Her parents came in with a bouquet and a satchel filled with her books.

"Hello, love! How are you feeling? We brought you some more books that you asked for and some flowers to replace the dying ones." Then Missus Granger stopped and looked at the flowers she had given her daughter five days earlier. "Magic, eh? I guess we'll need another vase then, since those are still kickin'."

"Mom, can you ask Madame Pomfrey to let me go. I want to go home." Well, it's half the truth at least, she thought to herself, knowing that the instant she got home she'd floo to St. Mungos.

While her dad was off negotiating with Poppy she started conversing with her mom regarding their vacation to the U.S..

"Well, dear, do you think you're up for it now? If you're not we can postpone it until Christmas break or maybe another week or so, but not much longer than that."

"Yeah, I suppose in a week we could go, unless Harry's condition gets worse, that is."

"Okay, Dumbledore said to meet with him before we make any new arrangements over in America so I guess I'll call him if Madame Pomfrey lets us use her fire.

Just then, as if on cue, she bustled out of her office with Hermione's father and didn't look very pleased.

"Okay! Okay! You win, Miss Granger. You may go HOME, but you must promise to stay in bed and go no where out of the house." She glared at Hermione suspiciously as she nodded in response.

"Yes, Ma'am."

Madame Pomfrey packed her things with a flick of her wand and Hermione eased herself out of bed.

"Madame, may we use your fire to call the Headmaster?" Hermione's mother asked. She nodded her head and soon enough they were going to visit the Headmaster.

When they were outside his office they could hear a man shouting inside.

"Albus! This is ridiculous! We must tell her! Or shall we wait until she's dead! It will be safer to tell her than not to! She is a brilliant witch and a prefect! Or is this going to be like Potter and the prophecy! And look what happened there!"

"Severus, calm down. We have people waiting outside the door. This conversation is over."

Then, Hermione and her parents walked in sheepishly and sat down by the fuming Potions master.

Dumbledore agreed to let them go on vacation on Thursday and Severus Snape was to go with them, as a safety precaution. Hermione was happy about this; she enjoyed his companionship…when he was being civil. Her parents could seclude her at times, leaving her with nothing to do.

When Hermione and her parents got home she started to read her book on ancient Egyptian magic and was stunned. The lot of it seemed dark and incredibly complex. After flipping through the pages a bit she came to see the picture of the amulet she had. It was called 'The Amulet of Life', roughly translated, and could be used in dozens of spells. One of them was for bringing back the dead and another for making a kind of voodoo doll. Even though half of the spells were dark and murderous the other half were bloody useful. There was little information on how the amulet works but it did say that the bearer was someone who had a line of blood drawing back to Ancient Egyptian Royalty and the more powerful the relative, the more power the amulet has for you.

The other book seemed to be more of a journal that was translated into English years ago. It had a lot of history in it and in the back, royal genealogies. It seemed to stop being kept about one hundred years ago, so Hermione thought it was a slim chance she'd figure out who was her relative. As she read over the names, one of the latter got her attention, Beismen. That family line was a direct relation to a ruler by the name of Phoenix. He was a ruler for a short period and had two offspring, Almaretta and James. Almaretta did not marry and died of a young age and James married an English woman by the name of Elizabeth. Down the genealogy last names started springing up and eventually led to Beismen. Hermione remembered her great great great Grandmother's last name was Beismen from a project she did in muggle school when she was nine. She figured she'd need to look him up when she got to a proper library.

She noticed it was getting late and her parents would probably be asleep so she put on her robes and grabbed her wand and walked down the stairs.

"Saint Mungo's!" She said clearly, after throwing some powder into the fireplace. She felt like she was whirring around and then she came to a stop and nearly fell over. After bushing the soot off of herself she strode up to the front desk.

"Hello!" The perky blonde said. "How may I help you?"

"I've come to visit Harry Potter."

She suddenly looked very suspicious, "And who may YOU be?"

"I'm Hermione Granger." She raised an eyebrow at Hermione and started shuffling through the parchment on her desk and then looked very surprised.

"I'll be right back, Miss." She got up and left Hermione and came back a few minutes later with the Healer she recognized from the night they had brought Harry in.

"Just give your wand to Miss Allridge and come with me." He instructed her. The Healer led her down a corridor and murmured a spell and touched the wall and an elevator appeared.

She stepped in and soon found herself on floor twenty once again.

"Why 'ello Hermione! Didn't expect to see you zis early! Ablus had told me that you would be coming later in zee week, missus."

"Yeah, well I was very worried about Harry and it would be nice if you didn't mention this to the Headmaster…I'm supposed to be at home getting rest for the sickness I don't have."

"Well, I'd say you should just keep yourself to a short visit. Some problems sometimes occur after a person has not fully recovered yet and they are walking aboot. You may not feel it, but whatever was plaguing you may still be zerr." She looked down at her feet and recalled all the times Dumbledore had been right but they were too stubborn to see it. "Now, I suppose you would like to see your friend?"

Hermione followed him behind a white curtain and saw Harry in his white bed with his white sheets brought up around his neck.

'He's looking a lot better, sir."

"Yes, he iz recovering wonderfully."

"How did he survive it, sir?"

"First of all, please stop calling me sir. Call me Ebenezor. Second of all, I'm really not sure. It could 'ave been a number of zings. It could 'ave been a magical bond he had with someone at that particular time. It could ave been the arranging of the stars. Or it could have been someone performing a spell to protect 'im. Personally, I zink it iz probably the latter, that someone intentionally performed a spell to protect 'im."

"I have another question, sir, I mean, Ebenezor."

"Yes?"

"What is this floor for?"

"Ah. It iz for supernatural research and we also specialize in old and/or dark magic."

"Do you know what spell it could be?"

"Probably an old magic. I'm zinking it'z from zee Marletos classification. It'z a group of old magic used to protect zose in battle. So, ven a vitch's husband vent off to war she could do one of zee spells to 'elp protect him. But zey are all very difficult and whoever was doing it was eezer lucky or knew the time and day ven Harry would be up against Voldemort."

"And I'd imagine that since they performed it on his birthday it was a great deal stronger."

"I agree. Most of the spells often require outside forces such as important dates or a certain alignment of stars in order to have it work completely."

"Does this have anything to do with what happened to Professor Snape and I a week ago?"

"Per'aps. Melvana may have let the date when Harry was being captured slip to zee wrong person, you know." Hermione made a mental note of the name Melvana in order to look it up later. He seemed to be the only person telling her anything about this whole situation.

"Why did they capture Harry on his birthday? What were they trying to do with him?"

"I 'ave no idea, Miss. They may have been oblivious to the fact it waz 'is birthday. Or perhaps they were doing some magic involving it on their own. But I doubt it was more Marletos, probably dark."

Hermione thought about this and walked over to Harry's bed and moved the hair off of his forehead. His scar was still red and his skin was still a bit cold.

"When do you think he'll recover, Ebenezor?"

"I'd guess a week or two at the rate he's going. But, I remind you, zer iz still the chance of death and him coming out of zis with brain damage." He reminded her.

"You really know how to cheer up a girl, huh?" Hermione said sardonically.

"Work through this Harry, I believe in you. I…I…need you. I need you to come back. I need to see those beautiful emerald eyes again. I don't know what I'd do if you died. I…I…I love you…" Hermione whispered to Harry, revealing the secrets of her heart. She kissed his brow and turned to the man in the white coat standing beside her.

"Love can be the best remedy sometimes." He said to Hermione, making her color. She hadn't realized he could hear her. "I think it vould be time for you to go? I don't vish to see you ending up here, hmm?"

"Yes, sir. I mean…Ebenezor. Good night."

He nodded to her and smiled as Hermione got into the elevator and was swept down to the first floor. When the elevator door opened she walked to the front desk where the blonde was to retrieve her wand. Except, the blonde didn't look so perky anymore. She looked dazed.

"Miss Granger. Here is your wand." She said mechanically. Hermione gave her a strange look and thanked her. As she was walking away to the fireplace to floo back to her house she felt a the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She turned around curiously and saw Miss Allridge pointing her wand straight at her.

"Avada Kedavra!" She yelled, sending a green flash of light at Hermione. Hermione dove out of the way and jumped up quickly, ready for whatever else she dished out.

"Expelliarmus!" Hermione shouted, but Miss Allridge was too quick and dove under her desk.

"Crucio!" Hermione felt the spell hit her like a thousand knives carving her skin off. She held back her screams and bottled it up inside. The spell seemed to dissipate until she felt it again in her chest and it moved through her wand arm.

Hermione got up and automatically said "Expelliarmus!" sending multicolor streams of light towards the blonde receptionist. She was hit with the spell in the chest and screamed out. Her wand flew out of her hand and across the room and was sent back into a wall twenty feet away. When she hit it she was knocked out, and then several Healers came running out to see what the commotion was.

"Stupefy!" One of the healers yelled. Hermione easily dodged the spell. "Call security!"

"Listen, stop trying to stun me! She attacked me!" Hermione pleaded.

"Then drop your wand!" Another Healer with graying hair yelled to her. Hermione dropped it to the ground and raised her hands above her head innocently.

Just then around ten Aurors ran into the room and one of them shot a spell at Hermione and before she knew it she was on the ground with magical ropes wrapped around her.

"WILL ANYONE LISTEN TO ME!" She yelled.

"Why did you attack Miss Allridge!" A Healer yelled at Hermione.

"I disarmed her because she tried to kill me!"

"Oh, likely story indeed. I can see it tomorrow morning in the papers 'Perky, Receptionist Tries to Murder Girl at Saint Mungo's!'" An Auror added, sarcastically.

'Well, maybe it wasn't her. Maybe someone put her under Imperious! She was acting very strangely!" Hermione retorted.

"Why would someone want to kill you through Miss Allridge?" A Healer asked her calmly.

"I don't know! Maybe someone wanted her to be convicted of an Unforgivable."

"Sounds like you know just what they're up to, eh? In the league with You-Know-Who? How about you show us your Dark Mark tattoo!"

"I am not a Death Eater. My best friend is Harry Potter. And all I know is that she shot a Killing Curse at me and I dodged it. I tried to disarm her and she dodged my spell. She shot a Cruciatus Curse at me and I threw it off and then I disarmed her."

All of the Aurors looked at her open mouthed and contemplated what she had said.

"And how exactly did you throw off the Cruciatus?" An Auror asker her suspiciously.

"I've been studying up on it." She lied. "If you concentrate and practice it some people can actually throw it off. I'm not saying it's easy. It did take me a while to throw it off."

"How can we even be sure you're speaking truth?" An Auror yelled at her, an angry look on his face.

"Well, you could do Priori Incantatem on both our wands and figure it out for yourself, dumbass." She spat at him in a fury she rarely felt.

The Auror started to approach her. "How dare you! You little bitch I'll…"

"Now, now. Step away from the girl. Let's test the wands." An Auror with an authoritative and strict tone said. The other Auror backed away from Hermione and soon enough she was unbound.

They took her name and then let her go home. Before she left she reminded the Aurors that she was acting strangely and was probably under Imperious.

When Hermione got home she threw herself into bed and settled in for a long night's rest.


	7. In Unexpected Company

center **Harry Potter and the Amulet of Power** /center 

**Summary:** Harry Potter is in his 6th year at Hogwarts. Right off the start of summer holiday he is captured by Voldemort. There is a mysterious new student at Hogwarts this year that transferred from Durmstang and she holds some interesting secrets. Harry is a sixteen year old with all of the love problems that come with his age. He struggles with the meaning of love and has some tough decisions to make. And if he chooses wrong, everything could come crashing down around him…

**Genre/Category:** Action/Adventure/Romance

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related characters belong to JK Rowling and Warner Brothers Entertainment. I have no wish to claim it as my own. Yet, the plot and original characters of "Harry Potter and the Amulet of Life" are all my own. 

**Ships:** HPHG HGSS HPGW GWDM (Love triangles all around!)

**A/N: ** Be a responsible reader and review!

**Chapter Ten – In Unexpected Company**

Hermione woke up the next day at one in the afternoon. She put on her dressing gown and went down to the kitchen to make some coffee. Then, she heard a noise in her darkened living room. She grabbed a pan and snuck into the vicinity of the noise she had heard. She saw a figure of a man sitting in their rocking chair and looking at the fire that was almost out. She lifted the pot up to strike the stranger and crept towards him, not making a sound. Suddenly the man whipped his head around and lunged away from where Hermione had swung the pot.

When she began to walk closer to him to hit him again he spoke out. "Hermione! It's me, Severus. Please out that down, I'd rather not have a concussion."

"Serverus? Really? Then why are you in my living room? How do I know you're not someone else using Polyjuice potion?"

"Miss Granger, you may watch me for an hour if you'd like to verify that I really am your Professor or you could just call Dumbledore. He sent me here hours ago to watch over you while your parents are out."

"Why is it so dark in here? It's one in the afternoon!"

"I darkened the windows since you have no shades in here. It was getting a bit hot and I like it dark. Like for example, why I live in the dungeons at school."

Hermione furrowed her brow and fidgeted, thinking what to do with this man in her living room.

"Okay, I'll believe you. But I'm going to call the Headmaster. And if you make any motions towards me I'll decapitate you with this pan. OH! And your wand, please."

Snape scowled and handed her his wand and sat back down in the rocking chair.

"Would you like any coffee? I just started making some."

"Yes, that would be nice. I like mine black."

After Hermione made the coffee she gave Snape's his and began reading in the living room. After reading the paper she moved onto a book on medicine and then one on ancient magic. One thing popped out to her in the ancient magic book. It was a spell for conjuring more power and special forces. It looked incredibly dark though and she suspected that was the reason of her lure to it. She had read that Dark Magic can be very compelling and terrible to some wizards. It could take them over.

"What's that you are reading, Hermione?" She noticed that he had started using her first name lately.

"This book on ancient magic. It's so old that it doesn't even have a title. I got it at this strange shop in France when I was visiting my Aunt a few months ago."

"Ah. Just be careful of the spells in there. Make sure you ask the Headmaster, myself or McGonnogal before you try it. A lot of the spells have some bad outcomes that you may have skimmed over. You just need to be careful."

"I feel so restless…we've been sitting in this dark room reading for two hours now. It's beautiful outside, too. Am I allowed to take the boat out on our lake?"

He raised an eyebrow and frowned. "Hermione, you know I'm not supposed to let you go out. Wouldn't this time be better used for some training or studying of some kind?"

"All work and no play equals insanity, sir." He frowned again and thought deeply about it.

"Alright…" He said, giving in. Hermione smiled and leapt up and hugged him suddenly, catching him off guard. He just froze as she held him a moment longer and then let go. She started to blush.

He hadn't been hugged like that in ages. The last time he got a hug might have been from his mother before she died. He didn't see much of women and when he did it was purely physical, usually. But Severus Snape did not cuddle. He shuddered at the thought.

"Um…I'm sorry sir."

"Yes, well, bottle your enthusiasm some. You can only go if I go with you and we need to come back before it gets dark." To his surprise she still seemed quite happy about being able to go out on her boat.

"No problem. At least I'll have some company! I'll go change and get the boat ready. We'll be departing in ten minutes. Okay?"

"I'm sorry, I must have thirty or so. So in thirty?" He offered.

"THIRTY!" She whined. "Why?"

"I um…just ate."

"No you didn't."

"I uh…have to um…shower."

"Why? We're just going out on the boat. You'll probably end up having to shower when we get back."

"Just…because." He snapped.

"Well, okay! Don't have to get all angry about it…" She joked.

OH MY GOD was I just flirting with SNAPE? Gross… Hermione thought to herself.

Snape got up from his chair and went to the guestroom where he was presumably staying. She guessed his job was watching over her. Oh great he must be ecstatic about that…spending his summer babysitting.

When Hermione got into her bikini and cover up she went downstairs to see that Snape still hadn't come out yet. After prepping the boat she went back inside again and found him in the living room. It looked as though he wasn't doing anything. He appeared to be waiting for the thirty minutes to go by. She shook her head and waited with him.

"Can we go now, Professor?" Hermione whined as the clock struck 3:30.

"Yes, yes. Let's go, Hermione."

As Hermione was untying the boat from the dock Snape started to talk to her. "You know, Hermione, for the summer you could call me Severus or even Mister Snape. Professor is rather tedious while I'm here. And just 'Snape' is a bit cold."

She was surprised. It felt weird to call him anything but Snape or Professor Snape. But she accepted it nonetheless. "Alright, Severus." He gave her a small smile and relaxed on one of the seats in the shaded part of the boat.

After they got out into the middle of the lake she took off her cover up and laid out in the sun on her deck. She could feel Severus' eyes on her. Hermione cringed at the thought but was surprised she wasn't more disgusted.

Severus couldn't help but look at her. She was utterly beautiful and had really grown into her body. She was gorgeous. The sun reflected dozens of hues of browns in her wavy hair and accentuated her curves in a very flattering manner. He was drawn back to a time when he was young and in love…a time when he was so drawn to a woman's beauty…Felice's beauty…

It was a hot day and the first of his summer vacation before sixth year. He was at Hogsmeade and was dying to get out the heat. When he got to the Three Broomsticks Severus sat down at his table and contemplated what to order from the menu. Just as he had ordered his meal the door opened and e subconsciously looked over to see who was coming in. His meal no longer mattered to him.

She was gorgeous.

He couldn't keep his eyes off of her. He felt his jaw hang off of it's hinge as he marveled at her. She was tall and had long, black silky hair. It was the darkest black he had ever seen in his life. She had perfect skin and a thin body accentuated by full breasts and great curves. As he was looking her over he couldn't keep his sight away from her eyes. They were like nothing he had ever seen before. They were the lightest blue with a dark blue or black rim. But, no matter how out of the ordinary they looked it seemed they didn't look bad on her, they looked stunning. She looked stunning.

After ordering her drinks she turned around and Severus' eyes met her light blue ones. He colored slightly, knowing he'd been caught looking at her, and clasped his jaw back into place and tried to pretend that he wasn't just gaping at her.

She walked over to his table and his heart skipped a beat and she sat down across from him. He stopped breathing for a moment and didn't know if he was capable of speaking. It seemed like he had forgotten. And as hard as it was before to keep his eyes off of her it was just as hard to stop looking at his plate and face her.

"Excuse me sir, do you mind if I sit here with you? I thought it would be a bit lonely for us both to eat alone…" She asked him with a light Bulgarian accent. He found it incredibly sexy.

"I…um…er…sure…I guess if you er would uhm like to I guess and I um…"Severus looked up at her and his face was crimson as she started giggling.

"Do you speak English, sir?" She asked through her giggles. Those damn giggles, he thought.

"I um…yes. I'm sorry. I'm not too eloquent today. I—I don't know what's come over me…" Severus finally got out. He usually didn't lose his head when talking to good-looking girls but for some reason he was starting to now.

"Why were you looking at me before?" She asked, with curiosity written all over her face.

Severus choked up and could feel himself starting to blush profusely. "I'm sorry, I just thought I might have recognized you from somewhere…" He lied.

"Really?"

"Um…yes."

She raised an eyebrow at him and started sipping her liquor.

"Well, I thought you were…" Severus forced out, being cut off by the girl.

"Attractive?"

"Basically." He wanted to scream out that he thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and he wanted to sweep her off her feet and kiss her senseless but instead he bit his tongue and turned red again.

"Well, my name is Felice Benzler. What's yours?"

"I'm Severus, Severus Snape."

"Oh, do you go to the school over here, Hogwarts?"

"Yes, I'm going to be in my seventh year this upcoming school year."

"Ooh. I just graduated this year actually. I'm here in England with some friends on a little celebration traveling. Though I might want to work somewhere around here. I love London. I grew up here…"

"What school did you go to?"

"Durmstrang. I liked it. But it was bloody cold up there. I would have liked Hogwarts better."

He looked at her dreamily as she sipped the rest of her liquor down and noticed how defined all the features in her face were.

"So, are you doing anything tonight, Severus?" She asked, breaking his daze.

"I um…no…well…I told my mum I'd make some potions for her, but that could wait."

"Maybe you'd like to go out with me and my friends tonight? A little night on the town? Don't worry, we're not too wild." She gave him a mischievous smile, which made him melt into his seat.

"That sounds…great. Should I meet you here? What time?"

"Uh…eight would be good. But I've got to be going. See you then!"

"Bye…"

She was the love of his life. Felice was his first and his last. She took his virginity and he took her sorrows and worries away. There had only been one bump in their relationship. Felice had been raped when she was out late one night by herself and ended up pregnant. They worked through it and by the time the baby was to be born Severus was excited as she would allow him to adopt the infant. It would be as if it were his child. He couldn't contain himself. But, despite many attempts, Felice died bearing the child. It was a girl. A black haired girl with shocking blue eyes, just like her mother. It had been the saddest day of his life. It had plagued him unto this moment.

He did not get to keep the child, as no account of Severus' planned adoption of the girl was noted before labor. So the adoption agency's first choice was to give her to family, and not the mother's boyfriend. That day he lost the love of his life and a daughter. He felt no need to keep in touch with the girl, as he wasn't a part of her life. And last he heard she had been shipped off to Durmstrang and lived there most of the summer, also.

He snapped out of his reverie when Hermione got up from the deck in her bikini. She giggled inwardly when she noticed she had an effect on her Professor.

"Want to go in now? You look bored." Hermione said.

"I'm fine. But, we should go in. It's starting to get dark."

Hermione pulled the lever to pull in the anchor but a few seconds after reeling in it made a loud noise and stopped. She went over to inspect and noticed that the machinery was jammed.

"What happened?" Inquired Severus.

"The anchor won't reel in properly. I guess it wasn't lubricated enough."

"Can you fix it?" He asked as she went through a compartment under one of the seats.

"Bloody hell! I'm out of lubricant. Unless you can pull it in, I'm afraid we'll either have to swim back or stay on the boat until someone comes out for us."

"Can't you call the coast guard?"

"We're in the middle of a lake, not an ocean."

"Oh."

"Can't you perform a spell to make the anchor lighter so we can reel it in by hand?"

"Not through the water, why don't I just sever it off?"

"So we need to get a new anchor and chain and put it all back together? I think not." She snapped. "Well, I'd use my cell phone but I don't have any service out here for some reason…maybe you could transfigure something into a boat with oars?"

"Transfiguration isn't my specialty. Potions is, remember?"

"Well, I've got some food. We could camp out here for a while. My parents will notice you, me, and the boat is gone and come out looking for us eventually."

"Your parents informed me they would not be getting home until very late, they're going to some Dentistry Convention after work."

"Oh yeah…then we could just sleep out here. If you let me use your wand I'll transfigure some stuff into blankets and these chairs fold out into a bed."

Severus scowled and handed her his wand. After making some blankets appear she suggested that she might try to summon things from her house to use on the boat. She tried but was unsuccessful.

When it got dark the sky was gorgeous.

Hermione sat on the back of the boat and looked out onto the vast sky and Severus came over to sit next to her. It was an intimate moment shared by them both and he couldn't help but worry for her and her relationship with Harry. He couldn't imagine her being tortured by a death eater for kicks or to get information out of her. He would die for her. Maybe Dumbledore had felt his protectiveness over her and his students in general and that's why he assigned him to Hermione. At first he was angry that he had to baby sit most of the summer, but now, he wasn't sure he minded. Sure, he could be researching for the book he's going to write or creating new potions but he was quite content with Hermione.

Severus was surprised at his draw to her. She was just another student, a fifteen-year-old one at that, and yet he still felt like she was a colleague. She didn't act like she was fifteen, but like she was twenty. He didn't understand how she could be so close with Potter and Weasley. They didn't seem to appreciate her and understand her very well.

Well, She's probably more like sixteen and a half if you consider she used that time-turner in her third year… he thought to himself, trying to make his feelings for her acceptable.

He looked at her profile in the moonlight and marveled over how different she looked. She was a beautiful girl, no a beautiful woman, whom he wanted to start kissing passionately. He knew that would be very irresponsible and he's end up regretting it though. She would jump away from him in disgust and think him some creepy old man he thought to himself.

Hermione rested her head on his shoulder and starting drifting off to sleep. After a few minutes she seemed to be out and he put his arm around her shoulders and put a blanket around them. After drawing her close to him Severus didn't ever want this to end. He knew he should part from her and leave her to sleep on her own but he couldn't bring himself to.

Maybe it was fate.

_He soon fell to sleep against his will, with Hermione resting on his chest. There couldn't have been anything that felt more natural to him._


	8. Hello West Palm Beach, Florida

center **Harry Potter and the Amulet of Power** /center 

**Summary:** Harry Potter is in his 6th year at Hogwarts. Right off the start of summer holiday he is captured by Voldemort. There is a mysterious new student at Hogwarts this year that transferred from Durmstang and she holds some interesting secrets. Harry is a sixteen year old with all of the love problems that come with his age. He struggles with the meaning of love and has some tough decisions to make. And if he chooses wrong, everything could come crashing down around him…

**Genre/Category:** Action/Adventure/Romance

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related characters belong to JK Rowling and Warner Brothers Entertainment. I have no wish to claim it as my own. Yet, the plot and original characters of "Harry Potter and the Amulet of Life" are all my own. 

**Ships:** HPHG HGSS HPGW GWDM (Love triangles all around!)

**Chapter Eleven – Hello West Palm Beach, Florida**

As the sun was rising it drew Severus into wakefulness. When he woke up and figured out where he was he noticed the compromising position he and Hermione had found themselves. He had gone from his sitting position to lying down with Hermione resting on his chest. One of her legs and one of her arms were thrown over him and one of his hands was on the small of her back and the other had found it's way to her hair.

When he stirred he had woken Hermione and when she figured out where she was and that she was lying on Severus Snape she turned crimson as he was separating himself from her.

He was trying not to look at her as he was coloring also and mumbled something under his breath that sounded like an apology. Hermione went down to the loo to freshen up as he started to make their breakfast consisting of some canned fruits and water.

When she came out from the loo her and Severus' eyes met and they colored once more before starting their meager breakfasts.

After they had finished Hermione noticed a boat on the horizon coming towards them.

"Oh! It's out neighbor's boat! They must have come out to find us!" she said excitedly, running to the stern and waving her hands in the air.

After the boat reached Hermione and Severus they were overjoyed. There was nothing better than to cover up the awkwardness of their sleeping arrangements the night before. Her neighbor with the help of Mr. Granger lubricated the chain and machinery and pulled up the anchor.

"Well, it looks like we're set. Thanks Lou." Hermione's dad said to their neighbor as he was pulling out.

"Thanks dad, I was worried you wouldn't notice the boat was gone this morning and we'd be stuck out here until you came home!"

"Of course, dear. Just remember to do all the checks before taking the boat out again! Are you going to drive in or should I?"

"I'll do it."

At this Mister Granger joined Severus at the back of the boat watching Hermione drive.

"Was it okay last night? Did anything go amiss? Were you guys okay?" He asked Snape.

"Yes, everything went smoothly. We had some food and Miss Granger was nice enough to transfigure some towels into blankets."

"That's my girl." He said proudly, beaming at Hermione. She blushed and turned her sight back to the driving.

For the next few days after they had gotten back from the excursion on the lake, Severus and Hermione read and studied and he started to teach her Occlumency and Legimency. She was improving much faster than Harry had. Then again, Harry rarely practiced and applied himself to the study of it. They were getting so much accomplished that Thursday snuck up on them.

Thursday morning proved to be a stressful one. Hermione's father woke Hermione and Severus up at dawn so they could finished packing and be able to catch the portkey trip that left at seven thirty. After packing and a bit of breakfast they all grabbed a hold of the old can and prepared for the trip. Then, they felt the familiar pull from behind their bellybutton pulling them forward until their feet again hit the ground in a different location.

Hermione looked around and saw she was on a dark street in a downtown area. Presumably, downtown West Palm Beach. Looking up at the street sign she saw she was on Tamarind Avenue. It did not appear to be a good neck of town. There were houses on either side of the street with barred windows and appeared quite dilapidated.

"Well, we better get going before we run into any trouble." Severus said.

Just then, as if on cue, a half dozen men walked out from another street and noticed the family and Severus with their luggage standing on the sidewalk. Everyone started to get nervous and grabbed their luggage and walked quickly in the opposite direction.

"Hey! Where you goin'! We was comin' to holla at 'cha!" One of them yelled making the other laugh.

Severus whipped around and stood in the way of them and the Grangers, urging them to continue on. As the gangsters approached Severus he stunned them quickly. He called it in to the police using a pay phone then quickly awoke them and put memory charms on them.

After meeting up with the Grangers around the corner he escorted them down Clematis Street and into a coffeehouse named Starbucks. They waited there for a few hours and drank coffee and tea and ate biscottis until ten o'clock when the trolleys started to run.

They took the trolley as far east as it went, to the ocean, and found their hotel. It was a hotel by the name of 'The Princess'; And after Hermione got to her room she sure did feel like one. Her room was gorgeous, and the view was even more spectacular. She could see out over the clear blue ocean for miles from her balcony. Her parents decided that she was old enough to get her own room now that she was almost sixteen, and it connected to their room on one side and Severus' on the other anyway.

After getting settled Hermione knocked on Severus' door, hoping he'd accept her company, as they'd had nothing planned until after dinner. He opened the door and had a surprised look on his face.

"I was kind of bored so I thought I might visit or something…is that okay?" She asked sheepishly.

"Oh, yes, certainly. I was just about to work some on this new line of potions I'm creating so I'm afraid I won't be much for entertainment today." He said, making Hermione's eyes light up.

"What kind of potions?"

"Well, it's classified." She glared at him, trying to force it out of him. "Oh, alright. I suppose it's safe to tell you. They're just power-enhancing potions and such. Things that could be sold to average witches and wizards in apothecaries."

"And…" She asked, feeling like he left something out.

"And…I'm also working on something to lengthen the effects of Polyjuice and perhaps make it easier to make by substituting different ingredients into it. And also, I'm working on something to take after being hit with Cruciatus excessively. Maybe in time I'll be able to develop something to help prevent insanity to those who have been exposed to great deals of the Cruciatus Curse."

Hermione looked up at him in awe. "What are you working on today?"

"Well, if you'd ever stop asking questions…" He snapped at her, then seeing her embarrassed reaction he softened, "…I am to be working on my power-enhancing potions. I've been quite behind on them and I have all the supplies necessary."

"Is there anything you'd need help with?" She asked, eager to be able to participate in ground breaking Potions research.

"I suppose you could look over some of my theories and such. You seem to do well in my class and have taken Potions in general to the next level in your spare time, so I guess you reading them over wouldn't hurt." She smiled at him and sat down on the bed in his small room and tried to contain her excitement.

While he was gone she noticed that all of the furniture that was supposed to be there was gone. The television, the coffee tables, the sofa, the lamps, all gone. All that was left was his bed and the nightstand with a sconce over it and an alarm clock on it. He came out a few moments later with a stack of parchment in his hand and gave it to Hermione.

"I'm sorry there's no where to sit. I needed to clear everything out of the room as to have enough room to put my cauldron. That is the lot of my notes. The ones in green ink are for the project and research on the Cruciatus malady, the ones in red ink are on the power-enhancing potions, and the ones in black ink are on the Polyjuice Potion. I would suggest starting with the red then go to the black and then to the green. Any questions?"

"Can I have a piece of parchment and a pen or quill or something to jot down some notes of my own?" Severus narrowed her eyes at her and she continued. "It won't leave this room, don't worry, calm down. It's just so if I notice anything that I can show you it later."

He agreed and got her a notepad and pen from inside the nightstand. He used the Engorgement Charm on his cauldron to make it so big that someone could fit in it and then started with his work.

After scribbling down a few notes she ran to her room and came back with a book she got from Knockturn Alley on Ancient Egyptian magic. She remembered reading about a power-enhancing potion and even healing potions that could help with the Cruciatus Malady. After a few hours of Hermione's studying and Snape's potion making they took a break and met up with Hermione's parents and went down to lunch.

"So what have you two been up to?" Hermione's mother asked.

"Well, Professor Snape is working on some potions and I'm looking over his notes." Hermione replied.

"Yes, she agreed to help me and I appreciate Miss Granger's efforts." Snape said professionally.

"She is a special girl. We've always thought so! You know, that McGonnogal wrote us a letter letting us in on how well she's doing. She said that Hermione here is first in her class! And that she wouldn't even be surprised if in her 7th year she'd be Head Girl." Her father beamed making Hermione color.

"Dad, stop it!" She said, turning even redder noticing that Snape was smiling at her. Was he actually proud of her?

After lunch Hermione and Severus headed back up to his room and looked over Hermione's notes.

"I looked in this book I have and there are several dark power-enhancing potions. But, If you substitute some of the ingredients with ones that are less…dark…then I think it could help. You see here how you have phoenix tears? Well they are quite expensive. Instead you could add a hippogriff liver and a few drops of dragon's blood and that would not only be more powerful but a lot less inexpensive than 10 phoenix tears."

"That's wonderful, Hermione. Can I see that potion you are speaking of?" Hermione got the book from off the floor and turned to one of the pages that were marked and showed it to Severus. After looking the potion over he read her notes more thoroughly.

"It looks like this may just work. In my next batch I'll try to add these in instead and see the effect."

"Great! But I also have something else to add. About your Cruciatus Malady…I was looking over the ingredients you have for various potions but some of these are quite dark. Especially the virgin's blood, is that even legal since it has to be taken by force?"

"No, Hermione, and I'm hoping to find something to replace it."

"But the effects of the potions would be highly unpredictable. And since some of the ingredients are dark and not well known, they could have different reactions when mixed with the other dark elements."

"That's why I'm experimenting."

"On whom, though?" She asked.

Severus' expression turned to a grimace and he looked like he had just taken some potion that was disagreeable.

"Myself."

"Who would be putting the Cruciatus on you? It is illegal. And it would not only be dangerous having it put on you but also testing them on yourself is dreadful!"

"Well, for one, I do not choose to have the Cruciatus put on my voluntarily and also there is no other way to test it. I have fully researched and if anything adverse happens…then it happens. I'm taking a chance."

Hermione pouted and glared at Snape. "I thought you cared about life more than that. It isn't something that should be given for research. I thought you were smarter than that."

"I just know what's worth risking."

"You sound ridiculous!" She yelled at him, storming out of the room. Snape's eyes followed her as she went, puzzled by her outburst. Confused why she would care if he died.

Just then, there was a knock at Severus' door. Angered by this intrusion upon his privacy he cast a camouflaging spell on his potion equipment and went to the door.

"Hello, Severus. Bad time?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling at Snape.

"Headmaster! No, not at all. Do come in. I'm working on some potions research."

"Excellent. Are Miss Granger and her parents out?"

"No, you know I wouldn't let Miss Granger out without myself. And her parents, I believe, are down at the pool. Shall I go get them?"

"Yes, please Severus."

After Severus had retrieved the Grangers they all sat down at the table and chairs that the Headmaster had conjured.

"Now, I have some news for you all. It is your choice to go back or stay on your vacation, though. Mister Potter has come out of his comatose state and is growing stronger every moment. He has asked though that you enjoy your vacation and not to worry about him and he'll be happy to see you once you when it's over."

Hermione looked like Christmas had come early. She was ecstatic. Her parents looked happy that their daughter's friend was well but annoyed that they had to cut their vacation short since they knew Hermione wouldn't be able to stop herself from going back.

"Well, I'm going back to see him. But Mum and Dad don't have to go. You guys can stay here and enjoy your vacation." Hermione offered.

"Is that okay with you, Headmaster?" Mister Granger asked Albus.

"Certainly. As long as her escort comes with her we'll leave as soon as possible."

Hermione beamed at Dumbledore and ran to her room to pack up her things. After her and Severus were finished Hermione said good-byes to her parents and was whisked away on the portkey and found herself inside Saint Mungo's.

Hermione looked around suspiciously and frantically tried to disguise herself. She still wasn't sure if Dumbledore had found out yet about her excursion.

After Dumbledore made the elevator appear he turned to Hermione as to say something but looked flabbergasted and couldn't get out a thing.

"What?" Hermione asked, wondering why the Headmaster was looking at her like that.

"Hermione? Is that you?" Dumbledore asked, still with the surprised look on his face.

"Uh…yeah. Why?"

"You look different! How did you change? Did you take some of the Polyjuice potion I had lying around?" Severus asked, looking very stern.

"No…what are you guys talking about!"

Dumbledore conjured a mirror and held it up for her to look in. She looked into the mirror shocked and couldn't get out any forms of words.


	9. Changes

center Harry Potter and the Amulet of Power /center 

**Summary:** Harry Potter is in his 6th year at Hogwarts. Right off the start of summer holiday he is captured by Voldemort. There is a mysterious new student at Hogwarts this year that transferred from Durmstang and she holds some interesting secrets. Harry is a sixteen year old with all of the love problems that come with his age. He struggles with the meaning of love and has some tough decisions to make. And if he chooses wrong, everything could come crashing down around him…

**Genre/Category:** Action/Adventure/Romance

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and all related characters belong to JK Rowling and Warner Brothers Entertainment. I have no wish to claim it as my own. Yet, the plot and original characters of "Harry Potter and the Amulet of Life" are all my own.

**Ships:** HPHG HGSS HPGW GWDM (Love triangles all around!)

**A/N:** So. I was thinking. I'd love to make some online friends that share my interest of Harry Potter and fan fiction and stuff. I don't have any. All of mine make fun of me for liking all this stuff. But I don't mind. IM me on AIM or AOL sometime. I'm TheUn5eenWar. Be a responsible reader and review!

**Chapter Twelve – Changes**

Looking in the mirror, she had blonde, straight hair that was shoulder length and her entire facial structure was different.

"Miss Granger, concentrate on making yourself look the way you used to." Dumbledore instructed her.

She closed her eyes and focused on how she wanted to look and when she opened her eyes she looked like herself again.

"What…" Hermione started.

"It appears that you are a metamorphagus."

"Th-that's impossible! I would have noticed by now, wouldn't I?"

"Some magical skills can only been seen after the witch or wizard is an adult."

"But, Headmaster, how is that possible since I'm a muggle-born?"

"I believe further up your family tree that you have wizards and witches in your family. They may have had a squib though and the magic was not lost, but hidden in the DNA. I think that perhaps the Metamorphagus gift."

Hermione and Snape both looked puzzled and surprised as they stepped in the elevator. After they reached floor twenty Hermione broke out in a run and met Harry as he was crossing the room.

"OOF! Hermione!" He managed to get out.

"I'm sorry Harry." She said, coloring. He smiled at her and gave her another hug. He remembered what she had said to him the last time she visited and he colored himself.

"How are you?" Harry asked Hermione.

"How am I? I'm not the one that just came out of a coma!"

"Hey, I'm fine. I'm alive and nearly back to full strength. I can be out of here tomorrow!"

"Oh, that's wonderful Harry! You'll never guess what we just found out! I'm a metamorphagus!"

"Whoa. Change for me!" Harry said enthusiastically, pride for her beaming through him.

She closed her eyes and concentrated and changed her appearance. Harry stared at her in disbelief and then laughed. She had changed herself into Snape.

"Mister Potter!" She said in a manly voice, "Fifty points from Griffindor for breathing!"

Harry broke out with laughter as Snape glared at them and wondered what they were doing. When Hermione turned around to look at him he scowled and turned back around leaving her and Harry laughing hysterically.

After an hour Hermione, Snape, and Dumbledore left Harry and went back to Hogwarts. Hermione was to stay in a guestroom and Dumbledore gave her free range of the library but was required to show up at meals in the staff room. Hermione was floored at the opportunity to have the entire library to herself. Even the restricted section.

That evening she went to bed early and woke up early with a start. She had a nightmare about Harry. He was with her walking through Diagon Alley when Snape came up and killed Harry then held Hermione captive in his quarters. As crazy as it sounded when she had woke up, it had been a quite frightening.

To clear her head she went for a walk around the premises. For a safety precaution she changed herself to look like Cho Chang before leaving the castle. The castle at dawn was in one word…breath taking. The way the sunrise reflected on the lake and the castle was shone on with orange and red magnificence.

The grass was still damp from the night's showers and nocturnal animals were turning in for the day. The air seemed so much fresher and the aloneness she was experiencing wasn't one that brought about loneliness, but a time to herself. She thought to herself that she should do this more often.

Hermione found it odd to be walking around as Cho, as she was built differently than her. She was taller and thinner, much like how Ginny was. One thing she didn't envy about Cho was how small her breasts were. If it wasn't for her height, she could pass for a twelve-year-old.

Hermione found herself not to like Cho much. She hadn't really cared that she and Harry were dating. If anything, she was happy for them. But she found Cho rather shallow and annoying. She was quite dim also. And now that she was sure she liked Harry, it didn't make her like Cho anymore.

Maybe now that Harry was older he'd be able to have a relationship with Cho. Hermione always thought that he was a bit shy before with her and once he grew out of it that he'd be fine with pretty girls. That just shows you Hermione…he's always been fine around you. That's because he doesn't find you pretty. He just sees you as his best friend and a bookworm. He sees Cho as pretty and a possible girlfriend.

She felt quite self conscious as Cho and was thinking to change back but remembered she had to stay like this to be safe. When she was walking back up to the castle she saw Harry appear not 15 feet away from her in the grass. Must have portkey-ed here… she thought to herself.

"Hey, Harry!" She shouted, forgetting that she was still in Cho's body. What she hadn't realized is that her and Cho sounded remarkably alike.

"Er…hey! What are you doing here during the summer?" He asked, with a puzzled look on his face.

"Dumbledore said I could stay here since my parents are on vacation. Well, come here you!" She said happily and ran over and put him in a tight embrace. He hugged her back awkwardly. "I was so worried…are you feeling better?

"Uh…yeah. Do a lot of people know I was in St. Mungo's." He asked, curious how Cho knew he was in the hospital.

"No. Just Dumbledore, Snape, me and I'm sure some others."

"Oh…well you look nice today. I like that shirt, it looks nice on you. My friend has the same one."

"Really? Thanks." She wondered who in the world would have the same short as her since she ordered it off the muggle internet.

"I didn't know you wore a lot of muggle clothes."

"Of course I do silly. I understand you see more of me in school but you have to remember I was alive eleven years before coming to wizard school. Besides, robes are too hot for a nice day like this."

"Yeah, its so nice out in the morning. Listen, I'm sorry about what happened last year with you and I. I was kind of a prat."

"You were? I thought you were fine…"

"Well, I didn't mean to lead you on and everything. This year will be different, I promise."

Then it dawned on her…she was in Cho's body.

"Oh my god, Harry!"

"What? Are you okay Cho?"

"I completely forgot…I'm not Cho! It's me…" She changed back into Hermione, "…Hermione!"

He jumped and was clearly startled.

"Hermione! Bloody Hell!"

"Sorry! I wanted to go out for a walk but I didn't know if it was safe because Snape is constantly on my case after this attack I had so I transformed."

"Attack?"

"Yeah, long story. Let's talk about it inside."

"Alright. You know…I think that shirt looks a lot better on you." He said, winking at her.

She simply laughed.

"What am I to do with you, Potter?" She said heavily as they walked up to the castle. Even though she was laughing she couldn't help but worry herself with what Harry had said to 'Cho'. What did he mean by 'this year it will be different'? Was it what she feared? Had he grown out of his awkward stage and wanted to pursue this relationship with Cho?

It wasn't much as jealousy as she was feeling. She certainly liked Harry a little bit more than just a friend but maybe she was getting her emotions confused when she saw him die. She was feeling like if Harry were to pick someone it should be someone who could take care of him, fulfill his needs, and love him unconditionally. Cho couldn't do that! She's too needy! She'd never understand him. She's too selfish and high maintenance. Maybe it was all Harry's hormones. Who knows? All she knew was that she got to spend the rest of the summer with Harry and that was good enough for her.


	10. Back At Hogwarts

center **Harry Potter and the Amulet of Power** /center 

**Summary:** Harry Potter is in his 6th year at Hogwarts. Right off the start of summer holiday he is captured by Voldemort. There is a mysterious new student at Hogwarts this year that transferred from Durmstang and she holds some interesting secrets. Harry is a sixteen year old with all of the love problems that come with his age. He struggles with the meaning of love and has some tough decisions to make. And if he chooses wrong, everything could come crashing down around him…

**Genre/Category:** Action/Adventure/Romance

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related characters belong to JK Rowling and Warner Brothers Entertainment. I have no wish to claim it as my own. Yet, the plot and original characters of "Harry Potter and the Amulet of Life" are all my own. 

**Ships:** HPHG HGSS HPGW GWDM (Love triangles all around!)

**A/N: ** Sorry I haven't updated in so long! I've been very busy with my classes. Thank you to the few people who reviewed me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Keep the reviews comin'!

**Chapter Thirteen – Back At Hogwarts**

At breakfast all the teachers greeted Harry and Hermione and asked them how they were doing. Even though Harry was Happy to be alive and walking around he was still depressed. He'd had this dark cloud hanging over his head since Sirius' death. He knew it'd been his fault. All his fault Sirius died. If he had only listened to someone and not gone out and done his "saving-people thing" Sirius would still be alive.

He knew if he told anyone this they'd brush it off and tell him he's ridiculous for thinking such things. But just because everyone else didn't blame him, he still blamed himself. He'd sought revenge on not only Voldemort now for taking his parents but Bellatrix for taking his godfather. When would all this end? His friends and family being taken from him and suffering? It wouldn't, until Voldemort was defeated.

He knew that after all the time he had to think at Saint Mungo's that he was in love with Hermione Granger. All of her sweet words to him echoed through his head even now and that kiss she had planted on his forehead still soothed him. He thought of how beautiful she was becoming and how loving and tender she could be. No one knew him better than Hermione Granger.

But he knew that he couldn't have her. At least, not until Voldemort was defeated. He would not put her in higher risk by having her as a girlfriend. She probably didn't feel the same anyway. He was her best friend and that all she saw him as. Sure, she cared for him, but so did Ron. And he didn't mind it so much, as long as she was safe and he still got to spend time with her, that's all that mattered.

After breakfast they had a meeting with Dumbledore about the rest of their summer holiday.

"Now, as you know, the eminent threat of danger is upon us, and you two are in quite in the middle of it!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Lemon drop anyone?"

"No thank you, sir. But would you mind telling me now why a woman at St. Mungo's tried to kill me under imperious and why Snape has been my body-guard for the past month?"

"Now, Miss Granger, I was wondering when you were going to tell me about that." He said sternly. Nothing gets by him… Hermione thought. "But, I believe it is in your best interest to tell you but I must ask you two that this not leave this room. Even Mister Weasley should be left out of it, for his own good. I'd imagine you wouldn't want your friend to be in any more danger."

"I won't say a word." Hermione said.

"Me neither." Harry added.

"Good. I trust you both a great deal and have no doubt in you. Now, Miss Granger, I believe that you have the Amulet of Life?"

Hermione gave Dumbledore a dumbfounded look and said quietly "My, nothing does get past you…"

"You're wondering how I know, correct?" He asked Hermione as she nodded her head. "Well, as you already know, we have some agents in Voldemort's midst and they have told me that some Death Eaters went to go pick it up for Voldemort in the store you had gotten it in the previous day. So they went over and tortured him until he told them who had bought it. He did not know your name so he gave your description and said that he had a vision about you and it said you were born in the tenth month."

"Why did he tell them?" Hermione asked, "I trusted him…"

"He didn't want to. They threatened the life of his family. And he did come to me with that information; he was an old student of mine, rather good in Divination and Astronomy. Anyway, he alerted me yesterday evening of what happened and I took his side of the story and saw they matched up. So they found their way to you, Miss Granger, and now they assume you have it and you plan to use it against Voldemort with Harry."

"But, they can't use it unless they are of Royal Egyptian blood. I mean, how many people are out there like that? The guy at the store did say that he had never felt like anyone else could have had it…"

"Well, also, they may have been able to work it, but whatever is leading him towards letting someone buy it or not was waiting for you to get it. It was fate. It is a very powerful item and will be very useful in this war against Voldemort."

Harry sat in his chair watching the two converse. Oh great, Hermione's in eminent danger even without me! Harry thought to himself.

"So, since you can work the amulet, I can only assume that he will figure this out and stop trying to kill you and kidnap you, which is much worse."

"I would never use it for him, sir. Never."

"I know, my dear, your intentions are good. But there is no way to guarantee that. They would not only torture you but also torture and kill your family and friends right in front of your eyes. And since you are stronger with the amulet, they'd be able to do more damage. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Now, on a lighter note! Congratulations, Harry, for beating the Killing Curse for the second time!"

Harry colored a bit and said "Its not like I did it intentionally…"

"Yes, yes. But, this summer we will be doing some training of you two. Both of you will receive training in Legilimency, Occlumency, Dueling, Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts, Animagus training, Physical training, Advanced Potions, Advanced Charms, Advanced Transfiguration, and Apparation."

"Whoa! That's a lot of training! And we aren't allowed to apparate until we're seventeen, sir!" Hermione said in shock.

"Animagus? We are going to be Animagus!" Harry said.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Well, that all depends on you two. Only certain people can do it, and the training is very rigorous and painful. You won't be getting your apparition license and we will not be registering you as Animagus for your own safety. But you are only to use it while we are training and when you absolutely need you. The enemy must not find out and the Ministry either, which to some minds is also the enemy. But, you did not let me finish. Hermione, you will be getting Metamophagus training from Tonks and since you and Professor Snape get along you will be doing a private study with him on this Amulet. Harry, you will be getting sword wielding training from my dear friend Lancelot. I have a schedule of your classes right here." Dumbledore said, pulling two sheets of parchments out of his desk and handing them to Harry and Hermione.

Harry groaned looking at their list of activities over the next 5 weeks before school.

"Well, it appears you have an apparition class right now. See you later!" Dumbledore said cheerfully.

Harry was both looking forward to and dreading the classes. He was excited to be able to be an Animagus and apparate and learn how to wield a sword, but he didn't feel much like working towards it. And Occlumency he dreaded most of all.

Hermione was a bit apprehensive about all the training. Most of all, she wanted to be able to keep up with Harry. The thing she hated most was feeling incompetent. Hermione tried to do her best in everything and if she didn't, she'd either give it up or try harder until she was very frustrated. The only things at Hogwarts she never excelled at were Divination and Quidditch, but she didn't care about those things. They were silly. But, all of their training was important.

Harry and Hermione walked down to Hogsmeade and met with Professor Sprout at the Shrieking Shack (Dumbledore asked them to not go through the Whomping Willow entrance but through Hogsmeade).

After they followed Sprout in through a hidden entrance into the shack and began their lesson.

"Now, first off, the reason I'm teaching you is because I used to be an apparition instructor myself and I hope to teach it to you as Dumbledore's request. So, have either of you ever found that you apparated accidentally when you were very emotional or even intentionally without a wand?"

"No, Professor, I've never apparated at all." Hermione said.

"Well, when I used to go to muggle school when I was ten I was running away from my cousin and when I was trying to jump behind a trashcan I'd found that I had appeared on the roof somehow. I got in quite a bit of trouble."

"Excellent, mister Potter. You should be able to apparate with little training." Hermione felt uneasy again, what if I can't do it? She thought. "But, there are a few things you should know before attempting it. Do either of you know?"

"Only your body and the clothes you are wearing and the other inanimate objects touching your body can apparate. But if you re sitting on a couch or touching a table you could be splinched with the table." Hermione said.

"Very good. Can either of you tell me what splinching is?"

Harry spoke up this time. "Its when you apparate and either part of you gets left in the other place or another object gets in your body, like coming out with the leg of a table through your midsection."

"Correct, Mister Potter. Anything else about apparition?"

"You should never apparate into an area you don't know too well and don't apparate in a place where muggles can either see you or catch you on camera."

"Wonderful, Miss Granger. I think we've covered all the basics. Now, lets start to practice." Professor Sprout said, eyeing them with a smirk on her face. "Now, lets try not to splinch ourselves. First I want you to make sure you are not by any objects and concentrate on this area over where I am standing. Memorize it. Then imagine yourself standing there and imagine where I am standing. Close your eyes and concentrate on it some more. When I say go, with your wand extended, Harry say apparate and never stop thinking about this place, nothing else. If you're not ready then don't do it." Professor Sprout moved from where she was standing as the two teenagers stood five feet away from her with their eyes closed. "Go."

"Apparate." Harry said clearly and forcefully.

POP! He disappeared.

"Uh…Professor…How long is it supposed to take him to appear?"

Sprout looked panicked "Oh dear…"

Harry appeared at a rural setting, definitely not across the room.

"Bloody hell…" Harry said under his breath, just then a young woman with blonde, stringy hair walked out of the door and nearly ran into him.

"Oh!" She said after falling over him. Then a look of shock crossed her face and she scrambled back into the house.

"Uh…er…excuse me? I'm learning how to uhm…apparate and I accidentally got here, could I use your floo?" He yelled after her. When he remembered she might not be a witch he could have kicked himself. But a minute later the thin girl came running out again but this time with an old woman.

"Grandmother, I just came out of the door and ran into him." The girl explained to the older woman.

"You are Harry Potter, no?" The old woman asked him.

"Er…yes. Listen, can I use your fireplace? I'm practicing apparating and I have no idea how I ended up here, mam."

"Oh, no reason to call me mam, its Julie. I suppose it's time you and I had a talk. Come in? I'll put some tea on, there's some things we need to talk about."

"I'm really sorry, but my friends are probably worried. When I get the hang of this apparating maybe I'll come back sometime. But could you tell me why I came here?"

"Well, because we did a sort of spell to help you and you have a connection to this place now."

"Well, how do I stop apparating here when I try to apparate somewhere else?"

Julie took out her wand and held it above Harry's head and he considered disarming her but decided to trust her. She murmured a few words under her breath and told him to try apparating back. After opening his eyes again, he found himself right where he tried to apparate to at first.

"Harry!" Hermione yelled, throwing her arms around him. "Where were you! Professor Sprout just left to tell Dumbledore you were gone!"

"Well, I guess we better call him and tell him I'm okay. Is there a fireplace or floo powder in here?"

"Well, I have some floo powder on me and there might be a fireplace upstairs. Let's go."

"Hermione, why do you carry around floo powder?"

"For a time like this. Come on, Harry."

When they got upstairs Hermione lit the fireplace then called Dumbledore.

"Good thing that this fireplace is on the floo network." Harry said.

"Hello Headmaster. Sorry to bother you but Professor Sprout is about to come and tell you Harry disappeared but he's come back now." Hermione said to the fire as Harry looked around the room.

He had never been upstairs before, nor anyone else in a while. He guessed it was because people rarely came into the Shrieking Shack. The only person Harry knew of was Lupin that came here regularly. And Lupin couldn't have gotten upstairs since the stairway was so narrow.

Harry noticed that there was a dusty desk in the corner and walked over to it. There were a few pieces of parchment on it. He picked it up and saw that a few of them looked like essays that were left unfinished and one was a letter.

My love,

Life is too short and I cannot burden yours any longer. I'm sorry for how this has turned out. I don't see how you could ever love a monster like me. Maybe one day we'll meet again.

Then the letter cut off, leaving Harry wondering who had written it so many years before. When he looked at the other unfinished assignment from the desk it was an essay on Potions. Maybe they went to Hogwarts! He thought to himself. They must have used this place as a hang out or something while going to school since no one's lived here for a decade.

"Harry, Dumbledore says Professor Sprout will be back up in here in a few."

"Oh. Uh…alright. Sorry I gave you a scare, I uh…apparated to some field. It was weird. I've never been there in my life." Harry said, having no idea why he was lying to her.

"Weird." Hermione concurred.

After more searching of the room Hermione found an old wizard photograph. It wasn't too old, maybe twenty years or so years old, but it had been sitting in the Shrieking Shack for a while. It was on the floor next to the desk. The young woman looked in her late teens and had long brown hair and incredibly dark eyes. She actually resembled Bellatrix Lestrange, but with softer features that made her more beautiful.

"She's beautiful, Harry. Who do you think she is?"

"I don't know. Do you think she lived here?"

"I doubt it. On the back it has a date only twenty four years ago."

"Maybe she went to Hogwarts! My parents went to Hogwarts around that time. Maybe she knew my parents!"

"Maybe."

Just then they heard voices downstairs that weren't Sprout's.

"I don't think I'm ready yet…and isn't this place haunted?" A feminine voice said.

"Don't worry, love. It's just an old rumor. And I love you, we can do this. If you loved me it wouldn't be so hard." A man said.

"Can't we just take it a little slower? I mean, I haven't even told anyone we're dating yet."

"I suppose…anything for you. I can wait for you." He told her.

The talking stopped so Hermione and Harry figured they had left, but just in case they went down the staircase with dexterity. When they got to the bottom they turned into the dusty den to see if anyone was occupying it. When Harry and Hermione looked in they both gasped.

"_DRACO! GINNY?"_


End file.
